I Can See For Miles
by ElsBells
Summary: Ensemble fic with Faberry. Rachel is blind but holds out hope for this summer, for other reasons than the Florida road trip the Glee Club is embarking on. Quinn finds herself as Rachel's guide.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just a reminder, Rachel is blind. Title is a Who song.

**I Can See For Miles**

**Chapter 1**

Quinn couldn't count the number of times she had stumbled down her stairs in the dark. Most people couldn't. You're just too lazy to turn on the lights, so you blindly navigate using your feet to feel for the edges of the steps. Sometimes she caught herself with the banister, screaming out rarely used expletives in the process. Other times she slipped down a couple steps and landed on her back, laughing her head off in relief that she was not tumbling to her death. And then sometimes, she would misjudge a step, lose track of the banister, and go thumping down the whole flight of stairs, before coming to a stop at the bottom and rolling around, hissing in pain for ten minutes, and trying to determine which way was up.

This may be accompanied by a distant, "Quinn! What was that?" or "Ohmygod Quinnie! Are you okay?" Then she would get up, shake it off, and do it all again in a couple of weeks.

This is what Quinn was thinking as she watched Rachel navigate her way down Kurt's staircase to meet the rest of Glee Club gathered in the basement. She wondered what it would be like to be in the dark _all_ the time. To constantly be feeling for that edge of the step. God, she would be covered in bruises.

Quinn was broken out of her reverie as Mercedes led Rachel over to the couch and Kurt finally spoke up, calling everyone to order.

"Ok fellow glee clubbers! I will make this quick because I am aware some of you have places you'd rather be."

"Yes! Please do. Chop chop Hummel. Reservations at Breadstix and I _will not_ be late."

"Does Breadstix even _do_ reservations?"

Everyone rolled their eyes at Santana. Brittany put her arm around her.

"Be patient San. This is so exciting! It feels like Christmas, you know. Like everyone's here even though we don't have to be! I hope there are presents."

"Ooh Kurt are there presents?" Tina perked up from her place sprawled on the floor with Mike.

"What? No. No presents. I just have a wonderful idea I'd like to share with you all." Kurt beamed, building the anticipation

"Dude get _on_ with it! A few more minutes of inhaling those flowery toxic candles and I'm gonna pass out." Puck complained from the armchair.

Kurt huffed. "It's floral incense Puck, but of course you would be ignorant of that fact."

Quinn was beginning to lose patience. This was taking forever and the 'floral incense' was making her want to vomit, so she focused her attention back on Rachel, who hadn't spoken yet.

Quinn didn't think this was odd. She noticed Rachel was usually quiet in unfamiliar places, and then back to her usual loud, outgoing self once she became comfortable. Quinn didn't know why she noticed this, of course, she just did.

It had only started within the last few months, when the two had stopped being enemies, and had become cordial, occasionally friendly, teammates. Quinn had lost interest in Finn and Rachel had rebuffed him in favor of her future career, so that all three points of their triangle were now single.

These few months are when Quinn began to think of things, like how Rachel feels coming down a flight of stairs. She didn't usually dwell on the girl's lack of sight, since they had been in the same schools since first grade, so that's just sort of how it always was.

When she made fun of Rachel in the first couple years of high school, it was for other things, like her clothing and stature, but she wouldn't stop her jock "friends" from hiding the brunette's belongings or slushying her so that she'd drop all her books and spend ten minutes searching for them on the sticky ground.

Today, Quinn had no doubt that she would defend Rachel, as a teammate, if she was bullied for her blindness. And she knew that every single other member of Glee would say the same thing. They had become a family.

Apparently Kurt's little speech was now influencing her thoughts.

"…are a family now. We worked so hard this year and New York was amazing, but it was school-sponsored. I think what we all need to really bring us together for next year, is a road trip. This summer. Together. Just the eleven of us, a minibus, and 1200 miles of fun!"

"Whoa whoa whoa." Mercedes held her hands up. "Kurt what're you talking about? Do you really expect that to happen?" She looked around at all the other glee clubbers.

Most looked thoughtful. Brittany looked like an excited puppy while Santana's eyes were narrowed in suspicion. Rachel had her brows furrowed, and Quinn was just trying to not vomit up floral incense that felt like it had overtaken her body.

"Kurt, this seems like a wonderful idea!" Ok, apparently Rachel decided to throw herself whole-heartedly on board. Kurt beamed, nodding enthusiastically.

"Wait, Rach you really want to do this? I mean you can't…You won't get to see all the sights. What's the point?" Finn asked.

"It'll still be fun for her!" Tina interjected as she saw Rachel hesitate. "We'll all get to know each other better; there'll be new foods and feelings and smells and stuff to do. And we'll all be there to help you Rachel."

Rachel smiled gratefully in her direction and Finn looked placated for the moment.

"Um Kurt, awesome idea and all but, I mean, how the hell are we supposed to afford this?" Artie asked.

Kurt gasped. "Oh I should've started with that! Ok! First of all, my dad just repaired a client's minibus but the guy doesn't need it back for a month, so he said we could use it. I'm sure we could all pitch in for gas right?"

The other glee clubbers nodded vaguely.

"And my Grandma has a house in Key Largo, right on the beach. Florida people! Paradise I tell you! It will force us to become _very_ close, but that's what this trip is about!"

"Wow this…actually sounds possible. And kinda fun." Mike said.

"Fun? Man, jet-skis, scuba, beach babes, surfing! This is gonna be freaking amazing!" Puck exclaimed excitedly, his eyes glazed over as all the possibilities appeared to him.

"Ooh yay! I went to the beach once! It turned me into a lizard 'cause my skin fell off after but it was _so_ much fun!" Brittany was obviously on board, and would be dragging Santana with her, judging by her exasperated but smiling face.

Tina wrinkled her nose in vague disgust at Brittany's previous overshare, but then nodded brightly at Kurt, gesturing to herself and Mike. "We're in!"

"Me too." Artie stated, followed by Finn's "Me three!"

"Oh Kurt," Mercedes sighed. "I don't know what the hell kind of mess you've gotten us into but I'ma have to go along to find out." She smiled at him and he clapped excitedly looking at Quinn.

"Uhh," Quinn glanced at Rachel. The brunette sat upright with a soft smile on her face just listening to the excitement. Quinn didn't want to agree to go until Rachel did; if the smaller girl was the only one to stay behind, she'd be by herself the whole summer.

Kurt got impatient and turned to Rachel.

"Rachel? Is it still yes for you?"

Rachel turned her head to his voice and inhaled deeply before nodding surely.

"Yes. Yes for me."

Quinn knew this trip could go terribly awry. She knew it could end in tears and anger, flat tires and horrible smells and claustrophobia and hurricanes, but like hell was she going to be the only one stuck in Lima for the summer.

"I'm in." She said simply.

The room erupted in cheers and laughter, and Quinn watched Rachel chuckle at the explosion of noise that lasted for about an hour, until many outrageous plans had been made and Quinn had endured her limit of oppressive floral incense for her lifetime.

-oooooooooo-

Finally it was the last day of school, and Quinn had to admit that she was excited. The day after tomorrow she would be leaving on a road trip to the Keys with a group of her best friends; worst case scenarios had all been purged from her brain after she pictured them all getting eaten by sharks and manatees and deemed it irrational.

Right now she strolled down the halls of McKinley on her way to lunch. She saw Rachel at her locker, looking confused and slightly upset, and Quinn hesitated before making her way over to the girl.

"Rachel."

Rachel turned quickly toward the voice and smiled slightly in Quinn's direction.

"Hello Quinn. How is your last day of school going?"

Quinn shrugged. "Uh, it's great. It'll be nice to get out of this hellhole for a while, you know." She gestured vaguely around the hallway, even though she knew Rachel couldn't see.

Rachel chuckled a little and turned back to her locker.

"Yes I fully understand where you're coming from Quinn."

Quinn studied the smaller girl, who now seemed to be searching the ground at her locker with her feet.

"Are you okay? You seem, um, upset…"

Rachel hesitated, but turned back to Quinn and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I think…I can't find my lunch." Rachel said quietly so that Quinn had to lean in to hear. The blonde's forehead creased in confusion.

"What do you mean you can't find it?" Quinn asked, equally quietly.

"I took it out of my locker and put it on the floor for a second so I could put my books away." Rachel's face seemed to be reddening and she tilted her head down. "I think someone took it…or…something" She murmured at the end.

Quinn didn't say anything, but her gaze flicked from the floor at Rachel's feet to all around the hallway, which was emptying now as the lunchroom filled up.

Her eyes caught on to an 'apple soccer' game being played by a few jocks about to round the corner, a telltale brown bag dangling from one of their hands as they guffawed their way out of sight.

Rachel seemed to take Quinn's silence for amusement or humor at the situation that Rachel just seemed to keep finding herself in. She thought Quinn would try to help her at least.

Rachel shuffled awkwardly and shut her locker, forcing Quinn out of her angry daze and back to the brunette, whose unseeing eyes were shining slightly with tears.

"Wait, Rachel." Quinn laid her hand on the girl's forearm, which was recrossed over her chest. "I don't-I don't see it anywhere. Maybe it just got, like, accidentally kicked down the hall or something."

Rachel raised her head a little, lips quirked up slightly in surprise, tears fading a little. "Accidentally kicked down the hall or something?"

Quinn took pause before answering very surely. "Yeah. It's like an elephant stampede in here when the lunch bell rings. I'm _pretty_ sure I lost a solar system science project once in the chaos, a little lunch would be nothing."

Rachel had to smile at that and Quinn chuckled slightly as she did. She knew Rachel knew her lunch hadn't been 'accidentally kicked down the hall' but the girl was genuinely smiling in her direction now, and Quinn loved it.

"Come on." She said, linking her arm with Rachel's and letting her grab the cane leaning against the lockers. "I'll buy you lunch."

Rachel turned her head quickly to Quinn. "No Quinn you don't have-"

"Rachel you have to eat. And it's fine, my mom gives me a ten every day for lunch anyway. I don't know if she thinks we get five-star meals in the cafeteria or something but…you can pay me back if you must, ok?"

Rachel nodded, "Thank you Quinn." She said softly.

Quinn just tightened her hold on the girl's arm and guided them to the lunchroom.

-oooooooooo-

Quinn and Rachel seated themselves at the table full of glee kids, who all greeted the two loudly before returning to their boisterous trip planning.

"Nine." Brittany stated plainly.

Mercedes choked on her tomato. "Girl, what the hell do you need _nine_ suitcases for?"

Brittany looked at her blankly. "For my cat. Lord Tubbington is very demanding." Santana nodded sagely next to her, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh good Lord, you're bringing a cat on the minibus!"

At the other end of the table an argument was going on.

"Yes." Artie nodded vigorously. "Our overnight stay should be in Nashville. Home of country music yo." Puck clapped him on the back and smirked at Kurt and Finn.

"Sure, we should definitely _stop_ in Nashville, but the only place that could warrant an overnight stay is Memphis. _Graceland_ people. _Elvis Presley_." Kurt stated exasperatedly.

"_King of Rock!"_ Finn added.

Quinn nudged Rachel in the side; she could tell the girl had been listening to the argument.

"I agree with Kurt." She said brightly. "Elvis was the first artist of the rock'n'roll genre; we wouldn't have covered half the numbers we have if it hadn't been for him."

Quinn smiled.

"Yeah see even Rachel agrees!" Finn exclaimed. Puck just sighed and good-naturedly shook his head in Rachel's direction.

"So, my little Jewish princess and baby mama, are you guys ready?"

Rachel bounced a little enthusiastically as she tried to swallow her food quickly. Quinn cut in. "Well, I haven't packed _nine_ suitcases," she glanced a little skeptically in Brittany's direction, "but I'm definitely ready to go."

"Yes! My dads have helped me retrieve everything on my packing list, even though they had to go to Columbus for a few items. They even got me a sound recorder! So I'll remember what the beach was like once we get back."

"That's awesome!" Mike said, projecting his mashed potatoes halfway across the table. Quinn had to agree; she loved the grin on Rachel's face right now.

"Ok, so what time are we meeting on Sunday?" Tina asked as her revulsion with Mike faded.

"Six am sharp. My house. Minibus is fueled up. We have maps. We have games. This is going to be _amazing_!" Kurt sang out.

Quinn just smiled at everyone's happiness. She definitely had to agree with Kurt.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and favorites guys! Please tell me what you think; I only have a vague idea of where I'm going with this!**

**I Can See For Miles**

**Chapter 2**

"Ohmygod Finn! You said you could drive a minibus!"

"I can!"

"You just backed over your own damn mailbox!" Santana screamed at him from her seat at the back of the bus.

"Okay, we're switching." Mercedes stated, starting to climb out of her own seat and over the slightly pale-faced Kurt.

"What? No! I got this guys. Just hold on; it takes some getting used to."

The bus lurched ahead, shooting all the passengers forward.

"By the time you 'get used to it' we'll all be dead." Artie muttered.

"Ugghh it is too early for this." Quinn moaned. She had barely managed to drag herself out of bed that morning. People should not be up before the sun.

"Look, if we have any more problems before-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, what do you mean _we_? _You're_ the one who couldn't make it out of the driveway without demolishing something." Mercedes accused Finn.

He plowed right on. "If_ I_ have any more problems before we get to the highway we'll switch, ok? Seriously guys, calm down." Finn said, grinning confidently. "I got this."

Everyone groaned; whoever chose to mix Finn Hudson with minibuses and mailboxes needed to have their head examined.

"Quinn, what are we doing? Did we really hit a mailbox?" Rachel whispered nervously from her window seat next to the blonde girl. She was tightly gripping the armrest between them.

Quinn pulled herself out of her own Finn-driving-induced-early-morning haze of annoyance and turned to Rachel.

"Yeah, Finn just kinda ran over his _own_ mailbox, but we're on the road now. He seems to be getting the hang of it." Quinn assured her, glancing skeptically up to the driver's seat, and Rachel nodded slightly, loosening her grip.

Then Finn ran up the curb as he turned out of the neighborhood, jolting the bus around violently. Rachel shrieked and grabbed onto Quinn's arm.

Quinn tried to calm her own heart and ignore the angry outbursts from around her as the bus jolted again, returning to level ground; she reached for Rachel's hand with both of hers and squeezed tightly.

"It's ok! It's ok!" She heard Finn calling over the frantic yelling. "My flip-flop just got caught on the pedal! We're all good."

"Seriously dude? How does that affect the _steering wheel_?" Mike called back, rubbing his head from where he knocked it into the window. "We went _up a curb_! We didn't accidentally accelerate into a mailbox. Again."

Quinn barely registered Puck shoving his way past her up the aisle as she spoke softly to Rachel.

"Hey Rach, it's ok. We just went up a curb; I know it felt like we rolled over the edge of a mountain but we're fine. Ok?"

Rachel focused on Quinn's voice, squeezing her hand tightly.

"Puck's taking over now. We'll be smooth sailing and out of Ohio in no time." Quinn added, smiling, as Finn grumbled his way past her and the minibus started moving again.

Rachel let out a deep breath once she realized they weren't barreling down the road to their doom, and smiled at Quinn.

"Thank you Quinn. I'm just a little nervous I guess…about this trip."

"Yeah?"

Rachel nodded. "I've just never been away from my dads, like, at all…and these places are all new and I'm kind of…I know you guys are all my friends, but I'm kind of scared."

Quinn furrowed her brows and squeezed Rachel's hand tighter.

"What do you mean?"

"This is an amazing idea for team bonding and it's exciting and fun; I just don't want to get, you know, like left behind in the excitement."

Quinn looked at her for a moment in thought. God, she would be freaking out right now if she were Rachel. What if she ended up all alone, thousands of miles from home, without the benefit of sight…surrounded by manatees. Ok, worst case scenarios were back.

"Rachel. I will be your guide." Quinn stated sagely.

Rachel chuckled. "What?"

"I will be your guide." Quinn was smiling now. "I'll stay by your side, help you find things, make sure we don't leave you in Key Largo by accident. You know, those kinds of things."

Rachel was full-on grinning now. "Really?"

Quinn laughed. "Yes. You know you're not so bad when you're not spastically bossing us around. We probably need buddies anyway if we're going to make it out of this trip alive right?"

Rachel nodded brightly, "Yes, definitely."

She sighed happily and the two settled in for the twelve hour drive to Memphis, Tennessee.

-oooooooooo-

"Brittany! If I wake up one more damn time with Lord Fatso on my face, I _will_ throw him out of this window!"

Brittany gasped and her head popped up over the seat to find Mercedes. She hurriedly climbed over the sleeping Santana and up the aisle to where her cat was now sprawled on Mercedes' lap. Brittany nodded curtly at the girl, grabbed Lord Tubbington and made her way back to her seat.

"It's ok Tubby; I know you could never fit out that window."

-oooooooooo-

"Okay everybody! I think now would be a great time to play a game!"

"Berry, if the next words you speak are 'I'll go first,' I will kick you off this bus."

"Rachel _sit_ down! We're trying to sleep."

"Aarrghh no car games please. Kill me now."

"Lord Tubbington just peed on me!"

"Rachel, you might want to sit down, it looks like you're traumatizing Quinn there." Kurt smirked.

Rachel leaned back away from Quinn. The blonde, now that Rachel's chest wasn't pressed into her face, finally breathed again and returned to her normal color.

"Are you alright Quinn?"

"Mmhmm." She answered simply.

-oooooooooo-

"Puck!" Artie called out, "Get off at the next exit; I have to pee!"

"_Seriously_? Use a bottle or something dude, we've stopped like seven times and we're only in freaking Kentucky!" Puck yelled back.

Tina looked disgusted. "And we will stop seven _more_ times as long it prevents people from relieving themselves on the bus!"

Puck sighed and got off at the next stop.

-oooooooooo-

They stopped again for a very late lunch in downtown Nashville, buying some food and settling on the banks of the Cumberland to eat, across from LP Field.

Rachel pulled out her sound recorder and turned to where she knew Mike and Tina were seated; Quinn watched curiously from next to her, batting away flies from Rachel's unattended food.

"So Mike, where are we today?" she asked brightly, sticking out the recorder in his direction.

Mike sat up immediately, grinning. "Well Rachel, we are in beautiful downtown Nashville, home of country music as you probably know." He said deeply, putting on a commentator's voice. "It is also the home of the wonderfully terrible Tennessee Titans, whose stadium we are sitting across from at this very moment."

"And do you have a favorite country singer Mr. Chang?"

"Hmmm. I have to say Johnny Cash is the man."

Rachel smiled enthusiastically before turning in Tina's direction. "And how do you feel about Nashville Tina?"

"Nashville is _amazing_ Rachel! I am currently having a grilled cheese sandwich, which tastes like angels by the way, and to be surrounded by all this musical history is wonderful!"

"I definitely have to agree. Thank you Mike and Tina! Now Ms. Fabray," Rachel stated, turning back in Quinn's direction, "What are _you_ doing? Anything you'd like to share about Nashville?"

Quinn laughed and reached out to guide Rachel's hand closer to where she actually was.

"Well, _Rachel_, right now I'm trying to keep the flies away from _your_ food which you've so thoughtfully abandoned."

Rachel faltered for a second.

"But yes, Nashville is wonderful. Except for those old guys we walked past, who were dressed in bright pink bikinis and belting out _Coal Miner's Daughter_. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little scared for a second."

"Well…good. Thank you very much Quinn."

Quinn just nodded, smiling, and Rachel turned off the sound recorder. She then turned back to her perfectly clean and protected food and started eating.

"So Rachel," Mike started, "was it your idea to get a voice recorder?"

"No, it was actually my dads'. I didn't really want it at first."

Quinn looked up curiously. "Why not?"

"Mmmm, no reason. I just wasn't interested in it." She felt around for a fork which Quinn handed to her.

"Really? But it's pretty cool." Mike stated.

"Yes. I just…didn't want to _have_ to want it you know. Besides, I won't need it in a couple months."

Quinn narrowed her eyes at that and Mike and Tina stopped chewing. "What? Why not?" Tina asked.

Rachel hesitated and Quinn swatted away more flies from the girl's food. "Just…you know, we'll be back in Lima then and there's nothing to record there. Right?"

Mike laughed and nodded but Quinn studied Rachel's face. She was definitely uncomfortable, maybe hiding something. She was also about to put an enormous fly right into her mouth.

"Wait, Rach. Here have this." Quinn held out half of her own sandwich in Rachel's direction. "There's a fly on that."

Rachel scrunched up her nose in disgust and let Quinn put the sandwich in her hand.

"Thanks Quinn."

Quinn smiled, brushing off their previous conversation as 'crazy road trip fever thoughts.'

"No problem."

-oooooooooo-

The other glee clubbers didn't seem too affected by the fact that Quinn had turned into Rachel's 'buddy.' They were just glad that the blind girl had someone looking out for her on the trip. The fact that this someone was draped over Rachel right now on the steps of the Ryman Auditorium just made the situation more interesting.

The group had just strolled down 'Music Row,' admiring the lights and the people, the restaurants and bars, music drifting out of every corner. They now sat on the steps of the Ryman as Finn went to get the minibus from the parking garage a few minutes away.

"That's it. It's been five minutes. He's crashed it and we're never getting out of here." Santana stated.

"Just give him some time. He probably, I don't know, got lost or something." Kurt said diplomatically.

"Lost? We can _see_ the parking garage from here."

Kurt shrugged helplessly and turned back to everyone else. He caught Quinn drape her arms around Rachel from behind, before plucking out one of the smaller girl's iPod ear buds and putting it in her own ear. Quinn's smiling face turned to one of incredulity and Rachel burst out laughing, like she could tell what Quinn was thinking. Kurt was pretty sure he made out the words 'Lil Wayne' on her lips.

He smirked and shook his head, God they're going to be such a cute couple.

Just then the bus pulled up, not without two of the wheels hopping onto the curb of course, and Finn jumped out grinning triumphantly. His grin faded as Puck rushed past him and launched himself into the driver's seat.

"Good job Finn," said Artie, "I see all your lights are still intact and you're not dragging any mailboxes under your bumper. I rule this a success!"

The rest of the glee clubbers boarded the minibus, taking only small jabs at Finn's driving skills and shouting excitedly as they came down off the curb for the second time that day.

Kurt watched as Rachel showed Quinn whatever was on her iPod and the blonde raised her eyebrows, shaking her head and laughing. Rachel seemed to finally settle on a song as she rested her head on Quinn's shoulder and settled in for the five hour drive to Memphis.

-oooooooooo-

Seven and a half hours later, at midnight, the minibus turned into a hotel about half an hour from Graceland.

"Puck! This is one-way! You can't go this way!"

"Dude stop!"

"Ohmygod there's a car coming!"

"What? Where does it say-ohholyshit!"

So, after narrowly avoiding a head-on collision, the Glee Club all stumbled out down the steps, Kurt landing literally with his face in the gutter and Santana gracefully tripping onto him with her knees in his back. They traipsed tiredly inside and got two rooms, four double beds plus two fold-out couches.

Puck, who had been driving all day, collapsed immediately on one of the beds while the others dazedly hauled their luggage around.

"Brittany, just so you know, I'm putting Lord Fatso in here, ok?" Mercedes said calmly, gesturing to the small armoire that held the TV.

"What? No, why?" Brittany asked after figuring out that Mercedes was, in fact, serious.

"Because. That cat is going to suffocate me during the night… and I can't fit him in the dresser drawer."

Santana glared at Mercedes, who had collapsed onto another bed.

"Come on Britts, we'll put him in the bathroom."

"Uh, what if he drowns in the toilet?" Artie asked seemingly amused at the possibility.

Brittany looked horrified.

Santana groaned and looked back at Mercedes, who had fallen asleep. She smirked, "You can just let him free Britt; he'll be fine."

Brittany nodded as Santana pulled out a couch for the two of them. Kurt dragged himself into the same room, groaning, and dropped down next to Mercedes.

In the next room, Quinn and Rachel climbed into the same bed after arguing with Finn about what time their wake-up call should be. Mike turned the lights out and Rachel sighed.

Quinn tilted her head quickly to look at her. "Rachel?" she whispered.

"Hmmm."

"Did you know the light just went out?"

Rachel smiled slightly and tilted her own head in Quinn's direction. "I can tell if it's light or dark in a room Quinn, or if it's daylight or nighttime outside. It's a really small difference, and a lot of it is intuitive by now I guess."

Quinn made a noise of acknowledgement and waited a few more minutes. "Rachel?"

Rachel chuckled under her breath. "Yes Quinn."

"How did-I mean, were you born that way or…How did you go blind?...You don't have to answer-"

"No. I wasn't born this way, not that I remember ever being able to see. I was in a car accident when I was five. With my dad. We were both fine, of course, except my optic nerve was damaged by the glass.

Quinn looked at her through the darkness. Rachel had obviously come to terms with this, going by how matter-of-factly she was speaking. But then she spoke again, her voice softer.

"I dream though. I went five years before I lost my sight so I dream of things. Like my dads, I do know what they look like. I dream of our old house and the park and the movies we used to watch together. And…I dream of you."

Quinn's jaw dropped in surprise. "You…dream of me?"

Rachel smiled. "We were in preschool together."

Quinn still looked shocked, "We were?"

"Yeah. I think you're probably as beautiful now as you were adorable then."

Quinn blushed, listening intently.

"I dream of the big blue room we played in. And I picture this toy train, sometimes it's different shapes and sizes and colors, but it's always a train that goes around in circles. I also see these faceless….bullies I guess, who follow me around and around like the train." Rachel paused and smiled.

"But then this sweet little blonde girl comes in and chases away the bullies and sits on the floor with me and watches the train go round...I like having that dream."

Quinn smiled, seeing the happiness on Rachel's face. She remembers that train; it was her favorite toy, and she remembers the tiny little brunette girl who used to sit in the middle of the track with her where the bullies couldn't get to them.

The two lay in silence for a while, listening to Finn snore and Mike talk in his sleep, before Quinn spoke again.

"Rach, there was something you said today; I was just wondering…is there any chance you could…get your sight back?"

Rachel didn't answer and Quinn turned her head to see the girl breathing deeply, peaceful smile on her face. Quinn smiled too. "Sweet dreams, Rach." She whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading everyone! I love your reviews, especially grape slushee! They make me smile!**

**I Can See For Miles**

**Chapter 3**

Quinn awoke the next morning to an air raid alarm. Or what sounded like it. Seriously, since when were hotel phones so obnoxiously loud? Everybody in the room was stirring, although they hadn't been jolted out of their peaceful slumber and stricken with irrational fear by the sound that was _still ringing_. Quinn was the closest to the phone, aside from Rachel, who was groaning into her pillow tiredly, and the others hadn't seemed to have gathered their wits about them yet.

She then realized that she was already half on top of Rachel anyway, however _that_ happened, and just draped the rest of her body over her in a tired haze to reach that damn phone.

Quinn grunted in greeting and watched as Rachel felt around her, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Hello!"

Quinn already wanted to murder this overly peppy disembodied voice.

"This is your six AM wake-up call!"

Quinn just grunted her thanks and hung up, missing the receiver and allowing the phone to drop to the floor. She let her head fall where it was, and could have easily gone back to sleep draped sideways over Rachel.

But then a small hand palmed her face and felt over her shoulders, until it started shaking her a little.

"Quiiiin," the hand whined, "we have to get up."

Quinn finally registered the other movement in the room and the yelling coming from the one next door. Finn was helping Artie back into his wheelchair and Tina was rolling Mike out of bed. She caught random words coming from the commotion next door, such as "shut up," "suffocated," "peppy," "kill you," "bitch," and "cat."

Quinn reluctantly forced herself to sit up and watched as Rachel sprung out of bed like she had never been asleep. The smaller girl made her way over to her suitcase, expertly feeling her way around, and Quinn tumbled herself out of bed to help extract Finn's arm from stuck inside the fold-up couch.

The door that connected the rooms opened and Mercedes strolled in, looking around.

"Hey are y'all up?" she asked. "Kurt's having an aneurysm, says we need to be on the road in half an hour ."

"Yes! We are all awake and getting ready!" Rachel called enthusiastically from where she locked herself in the closet to change. Finn and Quinn both grunted.

Before Mercedes turned to leave, Quinn registered the cat hair dancing around the girl's face and plastered to her pajama top. Were those scratches on her neck?

"Breakfast time!" Kurt called from next door, and Quinn finally grabbed her clothes to get dressed.

-oooooooooo-

"Muffins Rach?" Quinn asked as they stood in line for the hotel's continental breakfast.

"What kind?"

"Um, blueberry or…" Quinn hesitantly took a bite of the other, nondescript muffin. She coughed violently and Rachel clapped her on the back. She cleared her throat, "Just blueberry. I don't even want to know what's in that."

"Okay. Blueberry's good." Rachel smiled and relinked her arm with Quinn's, allowing the taller girl to lead them back to the glee table in the lobby. Quinn ate her muffin and listened to the excited conversations around her.

"No Brittany, that's Neverland." Artie explained. "You know, the place in Peter Pan. Never grow up, forever a child…"

"Wait, then where are we going?"

"Graceland!" Mike cut in. "Home of Elvis Presley."

"But…is that the place with the Ferris wheel? And the toys and game rooms and fun stuff?"

"No…" Artie said slowly, before grinning in realization. "You're thinking of Neverland Ranch Brittany. Michael Jackson's place."

"Ohhhh." Brittany nodded slowly. "I want to go there."

"Pretty sure you don't hon." Santana said, and distracted the girl with some grapes.

"I'll pull the bus up out front." Finn announced loudly. The glee clubbers exchanged glances, cringing a little, but smiling and nodding vaguely. Quinn was pretty sure her blood pressure shot up to critical levels when Finn said the word "bus." Nevertheless, she grabbed hers and Rachel's bags and made her way outside with everyone else.

They successfully rolled out of the parking lot on the minibus, only hitting a large traffic cone and narrowly avoiding a pedestrian in the process.

-oooooooooo-

The minibus pulled up in the Graceland parking lot thirty minutes later and the glee clubbers unloaded and made their way to the mansion for an early tour.

"Dude, it would be so cool to live on Elvis Presley Boulevard. I would just tell everybody I meet my address. Yeah, I live on Elvis Presley Boulevard. That is the Puckmaster's humble abode."

"Yeah, except you live on 4th Street in Lima, Ohio, so _that's_ not gonna happen."

"Shut up Santana."

As the Glee kids met their tour guide, Quinn decided she would rather spend the next hour with the peppy wake-up bitch from the hotel. How could somebody make the king of rock'n'roll sound so _boring_. Seriously, this lady had no soul, and the rest of their group seemed to agree. Finn, Puck, and Mike snuck away to find the Pink Cadillac while Tina, Mercedes, and Artie tried to do subtle impersonations while the woman's back was turned. It didn't involve much; just speaking monotonously and looking like you're seconds from death. Santana seemed like she wanted to kill herself.

Quinn smiled when she looked at Rachel though. The smaller girl's face was attentive and thoughtful and she appeared to be hanging on to the robot-woman's every word. Quinn swung their hands between them and Rachel glanced up in her direction with a grin.

Forty-five minutes later Quinn was sure she had slipped into some kind of conscious-comatose-walking state of insanity. The only thing keeping her in a semi-right state of mind was Rachel's hand, which had never left her own. When the woman said, "Thank you, we hope you come again," it felt like Christmas. A New Year, a new hope for the future. Rejoice!

"Well, that was very interesting!" Rachel remarked brightly.

"Playing it a little fast and loose with the word _interesting_ there, aren't we Berry." Santana scoffed. "Somebody kill me now."

"It's over." Tina said, seemingly experiencing the same feeling of euphoria that Quinn was, now that the tour had ended. "Let's go find the guys."

Quinn pulled out her phone to call Finn, letting go of Rachel's hand and trailing behind the others by a few feet.

As they exited the mansion, Rachel stepped a little wide, running right into some guy with a drink in his hand, spilling it over the both of them. Rachel gasped and faltered backwards in shock.

"Watch where you're going dumbass!"

"Hey!" Santana raised her voice, striding around so she stood in front of Rachel, who was sputtering out an apology. She realized the drink was coffee; not a pleasant beverage to be soaked in. Ironically, the exact opposite of a Slushee.

"Hold on Finn." Quinn stated into the phone and quickly caught up to take Rachel's hand, allowing Santana deal with the belligerent man.

"Wait Quinn, who was that? What just happened?"

Brittany grabbed Santana's arm as Quinn wiped the coffee from Rachel's face.

"Are you okay Rach? Did it burn you?" She asked concernedly, checking every inch of exposed skin.

Rachel shook her head, which was cast down, and the guy seemed to register her unseeing eyes.

"Wait, is she blind?" The asshole looked like he was about to start laughing. Santana shoved him and Kurt joined Brittany, grabbing the Latina's other arm and turning around to head outside.

"Get a fucking soul!" Santana yelled as she stomped down the steps, Brittany and Kurt at her side. Quinn led Rachel out right behind them; she saw the tears in the brunette's eyes and headed for a bathroom, catching sight of Finn, Puck, and Mike jogging up to the others.

Quinn stood Rachel in front of the mirror and wiped the smaller girl's face with wet paper towels. "Did it burn you Rach?" Quinn asked again, gently wiping away her tears.

"Mmm, No." Rachel mumbled.

Quinn studied her for a moment. "That guy's an asshole. Really, I'm pretty sure I saw him kicking puppies and shoving grandmothers earlier. I'll push him down the stairs if you want?"

Rachel smiled slightly. "It seemed like you would've resorted to that earlier to get out of that tour."

Quinn chuckled now that Rachel had given her a smile. "Yes! Hide your puppies, hide your grandmothers; Quinn Fabray is bored out of her mind."

Rachel laughed now, and Quinn enveloped her in a hug, breathing in her coffee-scented hair, not caring that it was soaking through to her own shirt. They left the bathroom, joined their friends, who were full of creative insults for the coffee-drinking-asshole-guy, and loaded onto the minibus for the final leg of their trip.

Ten minutes later they realized they had forgotten Kurt, turned around, picked him up, and _then_ started the final leg of the trip.

-oooooooooo-

"What state are we in?"

"Texas."

"Arkansas."

"Florida."

"Ohio."

"Kentucky."

"Mexico."

"Ummm…I don't know who to believe."

"We're in Mississippi, Noah." Rachel broke in, a little unnerved by how little her teammates knew about geography. If they broke down, they were _fucked_.

"How is _Rachel_ the only one who knows where we are? She can't even see the signs."

Rachel beamed proudly.

-oooooooooo-

"Finn, if you don't stop singing _Hound Dog_, I will open the emergency door and _throw_ you off this bus."

"Mercedes, we're a glee club, we _should_ be singing!"

"He's been impersonating Elvis for six damn hours Rachel. That is not acceptable!" Mercedes raged. "Where's your cat Brittany? Maybe I can train it to attack him…seeing as it loves making its presence known on people's _faces_."

"Mercedes! He has enough trouble driving as it is. He doesn't need to be fighting off some fatso cat as well." Artie interjected.

"Wait, where is Tubby?" Brittany asked. Everybody looked around blankly; Mercedes looked a little too overjoyed at the possibility that the cat was gone.

"Britts, where's the last place you saw him?" Santana asked.

"Um…I took him to the bathroom at the last rest stop…I put him down for a second and…Oh my God." Brittany looked horrified.

"Turn around!" Santana yelled. "Finn, get off at the next stop and turn around!"

"This is what happens when we have to stop seven thousand times for the bathroom…" Puck muttered.

"Wait, maybe we shouldn't go back…" Mercedes trailed off as Santana glared at her.

Finn ran up the curb of the rest area ten minutes later and Brittany was in the bathroom before the bus even stopped. Mercedes sighed resignedly as she emerged with the massive cat in her arms, and they were back on the road in the next few minutes.

-oooooooooo-

"Can you turn up the AC Finn?" Mike called.

"God, yes! Please, I'm sweating balls back here."

"Wow, Santana, that's wonderful. Perfect. Just what I wanted to hear right now."

"Shut up Hummel. I'm delirious from heat exhaustion. It's like a freaking sauna in here. No, actually this is hell. It is _literally_ hell in here."

"Well, you should feel right at home." Quinn remarked.

"I'm actually pretty cold."

"Another word, Wheels, and you'll have to roll yourself all the way to Key Largo."

Artie shut up and Finn blasted the AC, after, of course, accidentally turning on the windshield wipers, hazard lights, indicators, and radio.

-oooooooooo-

"We should not have eaten at that crapshack in Alabama." Puck stated. "I think someone's about to blow chunks all over this bus."

Quinn could feel him eyeing her, but focused instead on keeping her lunch down. She knew this was a losing battle; it was only a matter of time. She kept her eyes focused on a spot on the seat in front of her.

"Quinn, are you alright?" Rachel asked warily. "You're not going to vomit on me right?"  
>"No."<p>

"No, you're not alright or no you're not going to vomit on me?"

"No."

"Umm, can someone pass us a…bag or bucket or something please." Rachel called out.

Kurt handed them a brown paper bag, revulsion apparent in his face. "I can't watch it. If I watch it, I'll do it too."

"Oh my God, me too!"

"Ugh, Quinn, you're gonna start a never-ending circle of vomit. I hope you're happy."

"Very. I'm actually overjoyed at the moment." Okay, it's time. This is happening. Right now.

Quinn curled over and threw up in the brown bag. Kurt covered his eyes and groaned while Rachel rubbed her back soothingly.

"Just let it out sweetie. I _knew_ there was something wrong with that bacon…Too soon? Okay, sorry. It's okay sweetie, let it out."

Quinn leaned back and shut her eyes.

"Better?"

She nodded numbly, wrapping up the paper bag before Kurt could start a chain reaction of hurling all over the bus.

-oooooooooo-

At eleven o'clock that night, the minibus crossed into Monroe County, Florida; they followed US 1, the Overseas Highway, and came upon Key Largo. Final destination.

"Dude, you really should've outfitted this beast with GPS."

"It's not our car, Puck. That would be vandalism. Or something."

"Well it's better than driving around lost on a freaking island in the dark."

"_Islands in the sun, that is what we are_…"

"Rachel! Now is not the appropriate time to start singing."

Quinn glared at Kurt and rubbed Rachel's shoulder reassuringly.

"Turn left!"

The bus swerved, catapulting everybody out of their seats and knocking Rachel's head against the window. "Mmmm." She hummed, wincing. Quinn grabbed her chin and turned her head to examine the bump. In the dark. So all she really saw were two large, brown, wonderful eyes. She dropped her hand from Rachel's face and decided to focus on navigation.

"What does your Grandma's house look like, Kurt? And are we even on the right road?"

"What state are we in?" Brittany called from the back.

"Uhh, small, green, one-story, and…I have no idea."

"How _small_ are we talking here Kurt?"

"Oh! There it is! That's it! Turn Finn, turn!" Kurt jumped up and down excitedly, bracing himself in the aisle for the violent turn.

They were prepared this time. Quinn held Rachel's head to her shoulder as the minibus pitched left and into a narrow driveway. In awe, everyone moved slowly once they rolled to a stop, not quite believing they had actually reached their destination. Quinn couldn't quite believe it either. She figured they would get to Kentucky, maybe Alabama, suffer a flat tire or a massive argument and turn around as things descended into chaos and all plays went terribly awry. This was a pleasant surprise.

The glee clubbers all started grabbing their things, and Quinn described what she saw for Rachel, who was sitting quietly next to her.

"Well, this house certainly looks…cozy, Rach. Let's see, it's sea green, which is actually kinda cool. Maybe Kurt's Grandma is a hipster. Uh, one-story; there's a little yard out front. Two-car garage. It looks like it backs right up onto the beach, but it's really dark, I can't really see."

Rachel nodded excitedly. "Come on, get up! Let's go!" She jumped up, nudging Quinn with her knee.

Everybody tumbled off the bus and up to the front door, which opened, revealing a small, thin woman with curly gray hair and a massive smile on her face.

"Kurt!" she called out excitedly and the boy pushed forward to greet her.

"Hi Grandma!" he gave her a careful hug, smiling widely. "How are you doing?"

"I'm wonderful! Introduce me to your gorgeous group of friends, the glee club right?"

Kurt nodded and ushered everybody forward, pointing to them and naming them one by one. Mrs. Hummel led them into her home and started sorted out sleeping arrangements. "I know you kids must be tired after such a long drive." They could only grunt agreeably.

Santana and Brittany claimed a guest room with a double bed, while Mercedes and Kurt collapsed onto the living room's fold out couch. Puck called the smaller couch in the same room and fell asleep before anybody could protest. That left a single room with two twin bunk beds.

"Oh Lord, Kurt was right when he said we'd be getting to know each other."

"Come on guys, this'll be cool. It's like camp!" Finn proclaimed, climbing onto the top of one of the bunks. Mike and Tina glanced at each other and shrugged, speaking simultaneously. "We'll fit." They claimed the bottom of the bunk, while Artie did the same with the other one.

"What's left Quinn?" Rachel asked softly, clinging to Quinn's side as she was led around.

"Umm…well you can have the top bunk and I'll put a sleeping bag on the floor."

"Like camping!" Finn called out, half-asleep.

"What? No! You're not sleeping on the floor Quinn. We can share. I'm small, we'll make you fit."

"What are you saying Berry? Is making me fit a challenge?" Quinn asked jokingly.

"I'm saying…I'm too tired to think straight, so can we please go to sleep." Rachel pouted and Quinn led her to the ladder smiling. "Yes. Of course. Tomorrow, Key Largo awaits!"


	4. Chapter 4

**I Can See For Miles**

**Chapter 4**

Quinn woke up the next morning wholly under the impression that the bed had shrunk. Really, it could _not_ have been this small last night when she and Rachel had first climbed into it. Or maybe it _was_ that small, and they had just been too deliriously tired to realize it. Maybe it was the fact that Rachel had Quinn pinned against the railing that was making it _seem_ small. Whatever it was, it felt nice, like she was wrapped up in a warm cocoon, and she lay there listening to the others leave the room before she decided to wake Rachel up.

Rachel stirred as Quinn gently shook her, opened her eyes a fraction, and paused for a moment, seeming to recall where she was and what she was doing, before she shot up in bed, knocking Quinn's jaw in the process. Quinn groaned and collapsed back into bed.

"Oh Quinn! I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Was that your _elbow_? Why was your arm there? Let me see!" Quinn had to smile at that, and settled her chin in Rachel's outstretched hands. Rachel looked confused.

"You whacked my face."

Rachel gasped and moved her hands around, feeling for injury. Quinn managed to pull herself away a moment later and shuffled over to the top of the ladder, leaving Rachel's hands grasping at thin air.

"I'm good, Rach. Come on, I smell breakfast!"

Rachel grinned and allowed Quinn to help her climb down, before the both of them got dressed and headed out to the living room.

Kurt stepped in their path and greeted them enthusiastically. They could see the other glee clubbers behind him, in various states of undress and bed-hair.

"Good morning Rachel! Quinn! How did you sleep?"

"Great."

"Wonderfully!"

"Good! Good. So, Brittany's making breakfast-"

"Wait, what?" Quinn looked a little skeptical at this. Brittany had tried to make toast at her house once and the fire department had to be called.

Kurt nodded. "After she set the curtains on fire Gram started helping her, so… it should be good!" He seemed like he was trying overly hard to believe this himself.

"Some people went down to the beach. You can join them if you want. You know, before it gets too crazy hot and stormy."

Quinn glanced at the girl next to her. "Rach?"

Rachel nodded excitedly. "Yes! Let's go swimming!." She stuck her arm out expectantly and Quinn took it, leading them out the back door, down some steps, and into the sand.

"Someone grab the fire extinguisher!" They heard as the door shut behind them.

Quinn saw Puck and Finn playing out in the waves, while Mike and Tina were in shallower water, looking like they were trying to convince Mercedes to come in deeper than her ankles.

"Come on Mercedes!" Mike pleaded. "Look, the water's so clear, you would _see_ anything that tried to attack you. You have the upper hand here."

"Oh yeah, that makes it _so_ much better. When I _see_ the shark coming to kill me, my first thought will be, 'Wow, there's a shark coming to kill me, I'm _so_ glad I saw this.'"

"We're only waist deep, and look at _them_!" Tina gestured to Finn and Puck tumbling through the waves. "They're fine, it's fun!"

"Girl, sharks can attack you in waist deep water. It's Shark Week. I know these things. And of course _they're_ fine, they don't have alluring chocolate behinds to attract the sharks with. You know he wants a bite of this."

"Fine. Fine. Go back to Lima never having been in the ocean." Mike sighed, feigning disappointment and turning away. Mercedes froze at that and then groaned a moment later, kicking the ankle deep water.

"Fine! Three minutes and _you_ don't go anywhere! When a shark comes, he's taking your skinny ass, not me."

Mike whooped excitedly and Tina grabbed Mercedes' arm, pulling her into the ocean. Quinn stopped on the dry sand to take her sundress off, bikini underneath, and Rachel did the same. She then took Rachel's hand and followed Mercedes' footsteps.

Mike and Tina greeted them happily, still flanking Mercedes, who was too busy studying the shadows under the water for killer predators, to say hello.

The water was cool and clear, and Quinn kept her gaze on Rachel to make sure the smaller girl was comfortable. She seemed ecstatic, beaming brightly and plowing through until they were a little over waist deep, where she sunk onto her back, dragging Quinn down with her.

"This is so amazing! Hearing the birds and the waves…I can smell the fish!"

Quinn laughed, "Not quite Lima, right?"

Rachel just smiled and shook her head, pulling them along and drifting through the swells, listening to Mike and Tina have a splash fight.

"Let me go Quinn." Rachel said, tugging on her hand.

Quinn looked dubious. So many things could happen. What if she got sucked into a riptide and dragged out to sea never to be seen again? What if she got mobbed by a…flock… of manatees? Herd? Mob? Gaggle? Pod? Attacked by a shark? Crushed by a massive wave? Abducted by a fleet of Spanish pirates?

Her grip on Rachel's hand was tightening and the smaller girl seemed to realize this. She squeezed Quinn's hand. "I'll be fine. I'm an amazing swimmer." Rachel said, beaming.

Quinn had to smile, rolling her eyes. "Of course you are."

After swimming happily for half an hour, Quinn bracing Rachel for the waves and currents, they headed back inside, leaving Mercedes swimming happily about like a professional athlete.

They dried off, picked up some surprisingly non-flaming breakfast from the kitchen, and sat in the living room with the rest of the glee clubbers.

"So Santana," Kurt started, "you're hair looks like it's grown about four sizes since we got here."

Santana scowled and Brittany patted her head like a puppy. "Damn humidity." She muttered.

"I like it. It's almost…Rastafarian." Artie commented. Everyone studied Santana's hair and nodded thoughtfully.

"I can totally see it."

"Dude, you don't even know what that means."

"So, what do you kids have planned for today?" Mrs. Hummel asked, striding into the room and settling down on the couch.

Kurt spoke up when everybody else looked unsure. Finn looked like he was still trying to figure out what 'Rastafarian' meant.

"I thought we'd just hang out here today. Get our bearings before going, like, snorkeling, wake-boarding, whatever you guys want."

Everyone nodded agreeably. Puck shrugged his shoulders, "Jet-skis can wait."

-oooooooooo-

An hour later, Quinn walked back outside, this time with the whole Glee Club. She was hit with a blast of heat as soon as the door opened, but she took it in stride and settled on a blanket near the water with everybody else.

Finn thrust his skim board into the shallow water, hopped on top of it, and landed promptly on his back as the board went shooting violently at Puck. A minute later, Puck did exactly the same thing. Both boys swore they would get the hang of it before they left. Quinn swore they would need to find a chiropractor within the next twenty-four hours.

"Quinn, please don't feed the sea gulls. I narrowly avoided a shark attack this morning, so, karma-wise, I wouldn't be surprised if I was swarmed by a flock of birds."

"What do you mean you _narrowly avoided a shark attack this morning_?" Mike laughed.

"Don't mock! I know they were out there."

"Quinn, are you feeding the sea gulls?" Rachel asked.

She actually _wasn't_ feeding them, she just wanted to shut them up because they were being so damn loud. She _was_ allowing them to covertly steal small piles of her food, which seemed to appease their leader. She told Rachel "No," however, and ate the chip she had been contemplating in her hand.

"Good. Because they _will_ attack you." Rachel stated matter-of-factly. Quinn just looked at her, eyebrow raised; Rachel seemed to sense this and continued. "Really, they have _no_ souls. They will do everything in their power, including strategically planning aerial attacks, to steal your food."

Quinn imagined what a strategically planned aerial sea gull attack would look like.

"Awww, so we can't feed the birds?" Brittany asked disappointedly.

"Brittany, you don't need those birds. You have your own Amazonian Puffy-Haired Bitch bird right next to you." Remarked Puck as he walked up, rubbing his back and limping slightly. Quinn could see Finn lying face-down in the sand at the water's edge, his skim board drifting through shallow water.

"Shut up Puck. At least I'm not maiming myself trying to walk on water."

Puck scoffed. "Skim boarding is an awesome sport Santana. It-"He cut himself off as he glanced back at Finn, doing a double-take and leaping up to make sure the guy was okay.

After a few hours of swimming and lying in the sun, the heat was starting to get to Quinn. It was two o'clock and the air had turned oppressive and muggy, so that breathing was becoming an issue. She could tell everyone else was feeling similarly. Rachel kept exhaling loudly next to her, and she had heard the phrase, 'It's _so_ hot,' about four hundred times already. Puck and Finn had gone inside to tend to their injuries while Santana's hair had grown so large she could barely see the girl's face. It really had a mind of its own. Kurt had retreated inside when he realized he was bright red and breathing was physically hurting his fantastically sunburned skin.

Finally, when thunder started rumbling in the distance, everyone who had stuck it out in the heat went inside. Not five minutes later the skies opened up and hot rain poured down from the clouds.

-oooooooooo-

The storm lasted through a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, which Mrs. Hummel made, and was still raging at nine o'clock that night. The glee club was gathered around the TV watching old movies on the VCR when, all of a sudden, the power went out with a _whoosh_. The room was plunged into blackness and the fans slowly stopped rotating. It was silent for a few seconds.

"Whoa, I can't see anything." Rachel commented. The room processed that for a moment and then burst into laughter

"Oh my God, Rachel. I think you just made my day." Mercedes remarked.

Rachel grinned brightly.

"So, uh, what happened? Is there a generator or something?" Tina asked.

"It's just a power cut. Happens all the time. It should be back on in a couple hours, right Gram?"

Mrs. Hummel nodded. "Maybe you all should head to bed now…There's not much you can do in the dark."

Quinn smirked and looked in Rachel's direction. Or where she assumed Rachel was; for all she knew there could be a dragon sitting there right now. There was nothing that girl _couldn't_ do in the dark.

"Ow, Puck, that's my hand!"

"I'm not Puck."

"Who are you?."

"Shit, I just walked into the coffee table."

"Me too. Oh wait, the kitchen table. What room am I in now?"

"Puck! That's my hand!"

"I'm not Puck!"

"I think there's a stranger in here. It's mildly terrifying."

"You're standing on my flip-flop."

"Okay, someone smells like hot sauce."

"Someone's molesting me!"

"Britts, it's just me. Hush."

"Where's the door?"

"Over here. Shit no. I think I broke my nose."

"I think Lord Tubbington is peeing on me."

"He's locked in the bedroom."

"…oh God…"

"You just rolled over my toes."

_Crash._

…

"Finn?"

"Finn, was that you?"

"Finn?"

"Finn?

"I'm good. I'm good."

"The door!"

"You found it? Keep talking."

"Marco."

"Polo."

"Marco."

"Marco."

"Britts, only Kurt says Marco."

"Polo."

"I just sat in a plate of spaghetti."

"Oh God, is that what that was? Me too."

"Marco."

"No, wait, mine was chocolate pudding."

"Puck, that's my ass."

"I'm not Puck."

"Polo!"

"Yes! Made it to the hallway!"

-oooooooooo-

Rachel was already changing into her pajamas when Quinn made it out of that mess and into the bunk bed room. She left Mike, who was cleaning the spaghetti sauce off of Tina's ass, and she hadn't seen Artie for about twenty minutes. He was probably rolling about the house in the dark; he'd find them eventually, as would Finn, who was picking up the shards of the lamp he had smashed.

Now that the fans and A/C were off, it was about ninety degrees throughout the house. Quinn was sweltering; she wanted to just take off her pants and slide into bed, but that would be…awkward. She stubbed her toe on the dresser, then grabbed her foot and hissed in pain for about ten minutes, after reassuring Rachel multiple times that she was fine.

Finally, she changed into pajamas and climbed blindly up the ladder, registering Mike and Tina entering the room as she did so. She laughed when they both stubbed their toes on the same dresser, swearing loudly and, apparently, tripping over one another to reach the bed.

Quinn climbed up next to Rachel, well, where she _thought_ was next to Rachel. So, actually, on top of Rachel.

"Oomph. Quinn, you just kneed me in the stomach."

She shifted to the right.

"Your hair's in my mouth."

Quinn mumbled unintelligibly.

"What was that? And your elbow's in my eye."

"This bed is too freaking small."

Rachel shrugged. "I kind of like it. It's like a slumber party. In _really_ close quarters."

Quinn chuckled, finally settling in and lying still. "Yeah. I think I only ever had one slumber party. My parents embarrassed me so much that I was permanently traumatized."

Rachel laughed lightly. "I only had one too."

Quinn turned to look at her, finally being able to see Rachel's eyes shining in the pitch black.

"Parental embarrassment?"

"Mmm, no."

Quinn raised an eyebrow, but waited for Rachel to continue.

"It was in middle school. I had these two girls over because they wanted to give me a makeover, but then my dad walked in, saw my face, and made them leave. He still won't tell me what I looked like. It took like an hour to wash it all off…I never really had anyone over after that; my dads wouldn't let me. It seems funny now though."

Quinn pursed her lips. Bitches.

"Quinn? You seem really tense."

"Bitches."

Rachel laughed. "It was middle school. Everybody was dealing with their own adolescent end-of-the-world issues. One day I saw this girl having a meltdown in class because she got a locker on the _bottom_ row."

"Oh God. That was me." Rachel couldn't contain her snort of laughter at that. Quinn just nodded. "I need to erase middle school from my life. Seriously, those three years of horror benefitted nobody."

"I try to just block them out. Not as easy as it seems, even though it's just sounds. I find it hard to believe that _you_ had such a hard time. Smart, popular, talented. Gorgeous."

"Mmmm." Quinn blushed. The heat was really getting to her now. They had long ago kicked the covers off and the warm, still air was pressing down on them. Quinn didn't move away when Rachel moved closer though. _That_ was good warmth; she could die in that warmth.

God, she could die in this _bed_. This freaking, obnoxiously tiny bed. Really, her body felt like it was only moments away from suffocation, asphyxiation, heat exhaustion. Whatever. And Rachel just kept scooting closer.

Quinn felt herself growing tired. She hoped it was from fatigue and not lack of oxygen. She heard Finn mumble something about "fucking oven in here." She looked over at Rachel cuddled up to her side, eyes open, and pictured the five year old Rachel Berry from preschool. The little girl who'd play trains with Quinn in the big blue room; who she'd sit with in the playground, building castles out of wet sand. She pictured an adorable middle school Berry in animal sweaters being picked on by immature kids, and she pictured the sweet high school Berry lying right next to her. The one who was her buddy. The one who was sharing this tiny bed with her, radiating so much heat they would surely both combust, staring unseeing at the ceiling with a small smile gracing her lips.

Quinn picked her head up slightly, leaned in slowly, watching for Rachel's reaction, and kissed that Berry, her _buddy_ Rachel Berry, softly on the lips. Rachel moved her head a little at first, in surprise, but kissed Quinn back after a moment and pulled away with a shy smile.

"Sweet dreams Rachel." Quinn fell asleep thinking the heat had made her insane.


	5. Chapter 5

**I Can See For Miles**

**Chapter 5**

Quinn woke up the next morning with her arm dangling through the slats of the top bunk. She extracted it, wincing at the pain, and rolled over to face Rachel. Dawn was just peering in through the window. Their covers were still at the foot of the bed, although Quinn was relieved to find that the air had come back on during the night. She hadn't died from lack of oxygen. She needed to think, and she couldn't do that lying next to Rachel. She didn't know _why_ she couldn't think next to Rachel. The smaller girl was curled up in a ball, probably cold now that the AC was back on in full force, but her face was calm and innocent and her hair splayed out softly behind her. Quinn sighed and sat up, brushed Rachel's bangs away from her eyes and draped the covers over her, before climbing quietly down the ladder and heading out the door.

She snuck past Puck on the couch, smirking at his SpongeBob pajamas and then wincing when she realized she owned the same pair, and went through the back door to sit on the steps facing the ocean.

Quinn had no idea what came over her last night. She still wasn't completely sure that what she _thought_ happened had _actually_ happened. She _thought_ she had kissed Rachel. She _thought_ it had been wonderful and she knew she wanted to do it again and again.

She also knew that the last thing she wanted to do was freak Rachel out. They were buddies; she couldn't make things weird between them now. Rachel _needed_ her to keep her head on straight; protect her from manatees and Finn's driving. Then again, maybe all this speculation was for nothing; that bed last night was like an inferno, she was _probably_ just imagining things.

Quinn turned when she heard the sliding door open behind her.

"Hmm, I remember _somebody_ saying that people shouldn't be up before the sun..." Kurt said, raising an eyebrow and sitting down beside her. Quinn just smiled wryly.

"So, what have you done Ms. Fabray? What's wrong?"

"…Oh my God, Kurt! What's wrong with your arms?"

"Oh that, it's nothing. I just spent all night peeling massive sections of my skin off and lathering the _rest _of it with aloe. _Then_ Gram told me it was guacamole paste that I was using….very cooling, although it turns your skin green."

Quinn grimaced and looked away for a few moments before speaking.

"Why do you think I've _done_ something? Or that anything's wrong?"

"Quinn, we're in Key Largo on vacation. With our friends, however spastic and crazy they might be. And Britt's freaking psycho cat. Nobody else is getting up before the sun. Only you. So you've either done something stupid, like murder somebody in the night, or something's wrong."

Quinn didn't respond.

"You left Rachel alone... I don't think she's been out of your sight since we left Lima."

Quinn still stayed silent. Kurt looked at her for a moment.

"You light up around her you know. Smile brighter..." He stood up. "She does too. She clings to you like you're her damn life raft."

Quinn narrowed her eyes and looked up at him curiously. He just smiled and headed back through the sliding door. "Plus, I don't think you would murder anybody, however psychotic you act sometimes…Breakfast in an hour!"

-oooooooooo-

"Puck, these pancakes are raw."

"They're not raw, they're just…doughy."

"Pancakes don't use _dough_. They are liquefied in the middle. They're _raw_."

"Well at least I didn't set them on fire like Brittany did."

"Hey!"

"Oh yeah, you chose the opposite extreme right? Instead of flaming toast we have uncooked pancake batter mixed with syrup."

"Shut up Santana. At least I _tried_. It's not like you could do any better. Maybe your _hair_ could make breakfast tomorrow; it seems to have taken on a life of its own by now…"

Quinn listened to Puck and Santana argue as she bounced her leg nervously at the breakfast table, where she sat next to Rachel, stirring raw pancake around her plate. Tina had helped Rachel that morning and had led her straight to Quinn when breakfast started. Quinn had no idea what to say; she was freaking out in her head trying to figure out if _Rachel _was freaking out. So she didn't say anything.

Rachel kept turning her head in Quinn's direction, extra alert for anything the blonde might say or do. Quinn figured the girl might want some sort of reassurance that what she was eating right now wouldn't poison her. Quinn could not give that reassurance. She already felt as if she had been poisoned by Puck's concoction, so she stacked Rachel's plate on top of her own and handed her a banana from the fruit bowl.

"Here. It's safer."

Rachel smiled, slightly surprised.

"Thanks Quinn."

"Mmhm."

Quinn focused her attention back on the on-going argument.

"Her hair does not look like a sheepdog! Maybe a lion, like a black one, you know. Oh! Scar! From Lion King!"

"Britts, you're really not helping."

"I see KISS."

"Maybe a massive bird's nest."

"Or a blackened tumbleweed…"

"Okay! All of you _shut up_!" Santana stood up and stalked to the doorway. "There is nothing I can do! I lost control of this hot mess a long time ago!"

"Obviously." Kurt muttered.

Everybody else started to get up as well, stacking their raw-pancake-filled plates in the sink and dispersing about the house. Quinn pushed her seat back, but, before she could stand, Rachel turned to her.

"Quinn?"

"Yeah." Quinn was wary.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

Quinn smiled nervously. "Since when do you ask to talk, Rachel? Come on." She grabbed Rachel's hand, which had been searching the table for her own, and led them out of the kitchen. She paused to help Mercedes find the Band-Aids, the girl claiming to have had 'an unfortunate encounter with Lord Fatso in the middle of the night.' Then she took Rachel's hand again and headed out the front door and onto the sidewalk in front of the house, no particular destination in mind.

Quinn took a breath and started to speak, eyes staring straight ahead as they strolled.

"Look, Rachel, about last night…God, in that freaking tiny bed…I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything. I-"

"I like you Quinn."

Quinn faltered and looked down at the girl next to her, who blushed fiercely.

"I mean, I likelike you…I think I've been enamored with you since preschool really."

Rachel was smiling nervously, picking her sleeve with the hand that wasn't latched onto Quinn's.

"You're gorgeous. I mean, I can tell. And so nice to me, and you make me laugh. You're my buddy."

Quinn was trying to find her words. Where the hell had they gone? What was happening right now? Where was she? Oh my God, it's _so_ hot out here. Quinn was pulled out of her shock by Rachel trying to extract her hand; Quinn just held on tighter and stopped them on the street corner. Rachel's smile had definitely dimmed.

"Rachel…" Quinn looked around for some sort of inspiration. Rachel had singlehandedly wiped out her vocabulary. She ended her search on Rachel's deep brown eyes, where she saw all the inspiration she needed.

"You like me?" Quinn was sort of glad Rachel couldn't see her. She was grinning like a damn fool.

Rachel nodded, still unsure of Quinn's mood and expression.

"Likelike me?" Now Rachel slowly smiled, blushing furiously. Her eyes were shining.

Quinn had no idea what to say next. Oh my God, it is _so_ hot out here. Her face was about to split in half. She bit her lip and gazed at the completely different side of Rachel Berry in front of her. Quinn brushed a few dark locks behind Rachel's ear and leaned her head in slowly.

Rachel could obviously tell. Her breathing hitched and lips parted slightly. Then Quinn kissed her, softly at first, but a moment later Rachel reciprocated and her confidence grew. She wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's waist before breaking away with a grin.

"I likelike you too."

Rachel beamed.

-oooooooooo-

Quinn and Rachel spent the rest of that day, and the whole of the next one, the same way they had spent that morning. Quinn never took her hand out of Rachel's, unless it was to wrap the other girl in a tight hug. They went on walks; they joined the rest of the glee clubbers in the ocean; they slept in that tiny freaking bed, constantly touching despite the heat.

Quinn's favorite new pastime became kissing Rachel Berry. She learned that Rachel loved chocolate chip Klondike bars and could not eat one without getting it all over her face. She learned that she was allergic to wasps and had a scar under her chin from falling backwards off a stool when she was four.

Rachel learned that Quinn loved wiping the ice cream from her face with a soft thumb, swatting away the wasps that Rachel couldn't see on their walks, and running her fingers over the scar on her chin while they kissed. She found out that Quinn loved daisies and dogs and was an amazing tree climber. After bandaging up Quinn's leg when the blonde had tried to prove that, Rachel kissed it better.

Kurt seemed to be the only one aware that anything had changed. He smiled slyly at Quinn every chance he got, not missing the subtle arm brushes and constant touching the two shared. Right now, he was staring straight at Quinn, grinning widely, as the snorkeling boat they were on bounced across the waves.

Quinn ignored him, focusing instead on Rachel's head on her shoulder and the conversations of the people around them.

"Finn, if you don't sit down you're _going _to end up in the water."

Finn grinned and leaned jokingly over the edge of the boat.

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"If you think I'm gonna tell you to stop, you've got another thing coming. Hell, I'll probably _shove you in_ when I get bored."

Rachel shifted slightly, reaching into her bag and coming out with the sound recorder. Quinn smiled fondly at her and moved her hand to the small of Rachel's back. The brunette turned to her left, where Brittany was sitting, beaming now that she had noticed the recorder.

"Brittany!"

"Rachel!"

"Can you tell us where we're going now Brittany? And are you excited!"

Brittany nodded enthusiastically. "We're on a boat, going to the Bahamas-"

"The reef, hon."

"-going to the reef. We get to go snorkeling! Yes we're excited!"

"_I'm on a boat and it's goin' fast and I got a nautical themed Pashmina Afghan-"_

"Stop yourself Artie. Dear God, stop yourself."

"Mercedes, _I got my swim trunks and my flippie-floppies_-"

"No! No more T-Pain. Do you even know what a _Pashmina Afghan_ is?"

"So," Rachel interjected, "what do you guys think you'll see?"

"Buried treasure."

"Nemo!"

"Some sharks."

"Killer whales."

"Ohmygod Finn's gone overboard!"

Everyone's heads whipped to Mike's voice and the empty space where Finn had been standing. Not knowing whether to laugh or groan, but mostly laughing, they turned around to pick him up. Artie, in the meantime, furiously fought for a cell signal so that he could discern what a _Pashmina Afghan_ was.

-oooooooooo-

"Oh God, this is going to be hell on my hair." Kurt eyed his rental goggles suspiciously.

"That's interesting, 'cause I think it can only _help_ Santana's."

Santana ignored Puck, trying to pull on her fins, but failing miserably and collapsing in despair against the boat railing.

"San! Avoid the vomit!"

"Oh isn't that wonderful. Who vomited?"

"Me."

"Me!"

"Me."

"Good God people."

"I'll wash it away in a minute, guys." The boat captain stated, making sure everybody was equipped with goggles, snorkel, and fins.

"Mike, your snorkel's on upside down."

"Dude, your fins are on the wrong feet. Wait, those aren't even yours. How the hell did you get girl fins on your clown feet?"

"Man shut up. I can't see. My goggles are freaking foggy."

"Alright. I'm ready Britt. Let's-"

_Splash._

"San!"

"Santana!"

Santana emerged sputtering and coughing. She grabbed the side of the boat and held up her hands, breathing deeply.

"I'm good. I'm good. We're all good. That never happened."

"Hey San, your hair's its normal size again." Brittany jumped in giggling.

Quinn turned to a laughing Rachel and spoke quietly. "I could stay out here with you, you know. I feel like one of them might accidentally drown me." She glanced skeptically in Santana's direction. "And you're so much _cuter_." She finished, resting her chin on Rachel's shoulder.

"Quinn, don't be silly. Go! Have fun! We can swim around later. Tell me about the hordes of vicious manatees you encounter."

Quinn blushed and shoved her lightly. Maybe confiding her worst case scenarios in Rachel hadn't been such a good idea.

"Fine. When they drag me under though, and death roll me, don't say I didn't tell you so."

Rachel nodded sagely and Quinn walked to the edge of the boat. She watched Mike splutter around, coughing wildly.

"Dude! Why am I inhaling water?"

"I told you man! Your snorkel is on _upside down_!"

Quinn smiled and glanced back at Rachel sitting happily on the bench listening to her friends. She pulled the goggles over her face and jumped in.

-oooooooooo-

After twenty minutes of swimming, Quinn was exhausted. The reef was beautiful, bright, surrounded by fish, and the water was crystal clear. She was not mobbed by vicious manatees and she enjoyed watching Finn and Puck vainly chase the bigger fish around. Now, however, it was _so_ freaking hot, and she climbed back up the ladder to the boat and strode straight over to Rachel, still wearing her flippers.

She dropped onto the bench, surprising the girl, and wrapped her in soaking wet arms. Rachel shrieked.

"Quinn! Ewww, you're soaking!" Quinn just laughed and pulled her tighter. Rachel failed in her attempts to push Quinn away and finally just gave in, failing to conceal her smile.

"Come on!" Quinn stood up and grabbed her hand, almost dragging Rachel down when she stumbled over her fins. She leaned over and wrenched them off.

"Where?"

"Just come here." Quinn pulled Rachel off the bench and down a few steps into the boat's cabin, closing the door behind them. She stopped and situated Rachel in front of her, taking a few moments to just gaze at her adorably confused face.

"Quinn? This is kind of unnerving."

Quinn just smiled, wrapped her up in her arms again, and kissed her. Deeply and happily and without a care in the world. For a few minutes, it was heaven; neither could stop smiling. And then Finn burst in, hopping around like he was dying for the restroom.

He froze for a moment, jaw dropped and eyes wide. Then, very slowly, his mouth curved into a massive smile.

"No way." He whispered. "No way!"

Quinn and Rachel had separated, although Quinn still held Rachel's hand.

"Quinn…" Rachel's voice came out in a small whisper. Quinn wrapped her arm around the brunette's shoulder reassuringly and pulled her close.

"It's okay Rach." She kept her gaze on Finn's face. He seemed fine, oddly overjoyed even. Okay very, very overjoyed. This was becoming unsettling. Finn looked like this was the greatest moment of his life.

"Finn?" Quinn narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah. Oh! Yeah? Sorry, what?"

She just tilted her head.

"So you guys are…" He gestured vaguely at them raising his eyebrows.

Quinn glanced at Rachel and squeezed her tighter.

"Yes." She said sweetly, kissing the brunette's cheek. Rachel smiled shyly.

Finn just grinned back, nodding happily.

"Why haven't you told anyone? You should do it now!"

"Really?" Rachel asked. Quinn looked skeptical.

"Yeah!" Finn nodded enthusiastically. "This is great!"

Quinn seemed to be catching some of Finn's glee, watching his reaction intently. She turned to Rachel, who was smiling softly, and rested her lips against the girl's temple.

"Rach?"

"Mmm."

"…Will you be my girlfriend?" Quinn whispered.

Obviously that wasn't what Rachel was expecting. Or Finn. Both of them gasped; Finn looked like he was watching a movie, impatiently waiting to see what would happen next. Rachel couldn't contain her grin. She threw her other arm around Quinn, who figured she knew the answer by now.

"Yes! Yes!" Rachel pulled out of the hug a moment later. She took Quinn's hand and moved forward, feeling Finn's chest, accidentally of course, and then the doorknob.

"Thank you Finn!" She gave the smiling guy a one-armed hug on their way out. Finn suddenly seemed to remember why he had come into the cabin in the first place and rushed to the tiny bathroom.

Rachel stopped at the top of the steps and pulled Quinn up next to her.

"Excuse me! New Directions! Look over here please!"

"Oh no, what is she doing now."

"Uh-oh."

"Rachel! We thought you fell in and drowned!"

"If she suggests another game I'm gonna shove her over the edge."

"Yes, Rachel?"

"Hey, shut up everyone." Quinn glared at everyone, except Kurt, who looked like a proud parent. She nudged Rachel. "They're all looking, Rach. Go ahead."

Rachel nodded and beamed.

"I would like you all to meet…" she paused for dramatic effect, "my new girlfriend, Quinn Fabray." Quinn grinned proudly.

A few jaws dropped. Most brows were furrowed, as if trying to dig up clues from their trip that could have told them this was coming; Puck stared into space, thinking about God knows what… Brittany shrieked a moment later and threw herself into Quinn's arms.

"Brittany, you stepped in the vomit."

"We're so happy for you guys!" Tina gushed from where Mike was prying the fins off her feet. The others nodded along.

"Oh God, they'll be such an annoying couple."

"Hey, Captain, don't wash away that vomit yet; I think I'll be adding to the pile if these two get any sweeter."

Santana sidled up to Quinn with a smirk. "You sneaky bitch, Fabray."

Quinn rolled her eyes but could _not_ wipe the smile off of her face. Santana swooped in for a half-second-blink-and-you-miss-it hug, before striding away, gagging, and leaving Quinn to happily wrap her arms around Rachel.

"Your time's almost up guys. Are you ready to head back?" The captain asked over the excitement. He was answered with a chorus full of "yeah" and "God yes" and "clean up the damn vomit" and "I just dropped my goggles into the ocean, they sank." Finn emerged from the cabin and hugged Rachel and Quinn at the same time, Rachel giggling at his cuddly-bear-ness, before the boat revved up and headed back to land.

Fifteen minutes later, Finn fell overboard again, demonstrating a failed 'look what I can do.' Ten minutes after that, someone finally cleaned up the vomit. And five minutes after that, half the club walked in on Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray making out in the boat's cabin.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Okay, question for you wonderful readers: Do you want to see Rachel get her sight back, or do you want her to remain blind? Hmmm...**

**I Can See For Miles**

**Chapter 6**

"Finn, we've been over this bridge four times already."

"No we haven't," Finn twisted in the driver's seat, before turning around and swerving back into the lane they had drifted out of. "It just looks the same."

"Dude, we stopped at _that_ gas station for directions. Twice."

"Are you sure? Let's just stop and ask again." Finn reasoned, violently swinging the minibus into the parking lot.

"And face that creepo closeted serial killer again? No thanks." Santana piped up from the back.

Quinn groaned. They had been driving for an hour and half, looking for an Everglades park that was supposedly only forty-five minutes away.

"I got it! GPS!" Mike called triumphantly, jogging up the aisle to direct Finn where to go.

"Mike, we trusted the GPS yesterday and we ended up in somebody's yard, lodged in a sand dune. It was seriously the beginning of a horror movie."

"This will be the beginning of a horror movie if we don't get off this damn bus soon." Quinn muttered. Rachel nudged her in the ribs.

"Quinn!" She chastised. "Just enjoy the scenery. I'm sure it's beautiful right?"

Quinn glanced out the window. It really wasn't. Key Largo was, but now they were off the islands wandering around some backwoods boondocks in swampland and gator country, waiting to be horrifically murdered by serial killers a la _Deliverance_. And, God it was _so_ hot.

She gazed at Rachel, however, and hummed a yes in response. "It's gorgeous."

-oooooooooo-

Twenty minutes later, after Mike had thrown his phone against the wall of the bus and Puck had gotten directions _again_ from the serial-killer-gas-station guy, they pulled into the Everglades park in one piece.

"Oh no." Mercedes said as soon as she caught sight of the air boats, "Finn's gonna be eaten by an alligator."

Everyone nodded matter-of-factly. It was only a matter of time before the boy was in the water. Santana seemed amused, but chose not to comment seeing as her hair was now eleven times its normal size. _Way_ too much ammo for them to use against her. They all piled on one of the airboats, which were composed of seats facing forward, very short rails along the sides, and a massive, deafening, oh-my-God-i-think-my-eardrums-burst-why-is-that-so-fucking-loud fan on the back. Mike and Tina forced Finn into a middle seat, flanking him so that there was no way he could end up in the water.

Quinn plopped onto an edge seat and Rachel stopped, before moving to climb over her.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?"

Rachel paused. "I wanna sit on the edge."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It seems more…thrilling. And you can feel the wind and the water more."

Quinn chuckled. "Really Rach, you like the danger factor?"

Rachel nodded and felt around, ready to squeeze past her.

"No. You're not sitting here."

"Quinn!" Rachel whined.

"No. Sit down. You'll fall in and I'll have to beat up an alligator to get you back."

Rachel huffed, dropping into the middle seat and pouting. Quinn smiled slightly and leaned in to talk in her ear. "I just got you Rach. I can't let an alligator _eat_ you."

"Would you jump in after me?"

Quinn was amused at the question. She pried Rachel's hand out of the brunette's crossed arms and held it in her own. She contemplated saying no. Joking, and saying that Rachel would have to fend for herself, but just _thinking_ that made Quinn feel terrible.

"Of course I would jump in after you. " She pulled the girl flush up against her side. "I would fight off the alligators…and the manatees….and I would toss Santana in to distract them, and save you." Quinn kissed Rachel's cheek, smiling when the girl finally couldn't contain her grin.

A few minutes later the boat driver climbed up into his perch by the holy-shit-my-heart-just-stopped-working-that's-so-damn-loud fan. Quinn gently put ear plugs in hers and Rachel's ears, hesitating because her girlfriend would now be down two senses. Rachel mouthed that it was okay and the two held hands tightly as the engine started up.

Quinn had most definitely _not_ been prepared. Okay, there was no way she would _ever_ be able to hear again. No way. She looked around; it was like silent movie swearing. She could see everybody's mouths moving, forming some not-so-nice words; Santana seemed to be yelling 'vacuum' at the driver, over and over. Quinn looked concernedly at Rachel, who was just wincing slightly, with her hands over her ears. She wrapped an arm around Rachel's head, displacing the smaller girl's hands, and pressed a kiss to her temple, seeing as she wouldn't be heard right now if she spoke, maybe ever again…Rachel buried her face in Quinn's neck as the boat started moving.

-oooooooooo-

The driver skimmed them around the glades, avoiding the sawgrass and mini-islands and alligators, before docking at fake Seminole tourist outpost on a larger island and switching off the fan. Nobody moved. They worked their jaws back and forth, making random sounds and trying to determine if they had in fact lost all auditory capabilities. After coming to the conclusion that they _had_, the glee clubbers disembarked and headed into the mini-camp.

"Well, Finn, you made it here without going for a swim. Nice job." Everybody jumped when Santana spoke; well, more like yelled. She kept on obliviously talking ridiculously loud to Brittany, who winced a little and glanced around apologetically. That's what you get for sitting closest to that freaking fan.

"Oh yes! Come on, let's hold a baby alligator!"

"What did you say?"

"Is my phone ringing?"

"I feel like we're talking through a bubble."

"Oh shit, I think I dropped my phone in the swamp."

Puck dragged them to the booth run by some overly sweaty gator wrangler and grinned maniacally as the animal was placed in his hands. He seemed disappointed that the jaw was taped shut; it was no fun when there was no chance of being viciously attacked.

"Quinn, I wanna hold it!" Rachel said leaning in to her, hair mussed from the airboat ride and grinning brightly. Quinn looked at her dubiously.

"You sure Rachel? It's kind of big."

Rachel just nodded excitedly, so Quinn led her forward. The sweaty guy seemed confused when Rachel didn't reach out to take the gator from him.

"She can't see." Quinn explained, taking Rachel's hands and wrapping them around the proper places on the animal, watching the girl's face to make sure she wasn't scared or disgusted or freaked out. She smiled as Rachel's brow furrowed in concentration and awe, and watched small thumbs run over the gator's back.

"Cool."

Quinn laughed. "Wow, very verbose Rach."

They handed the gator back a moment later and walked away to find their friends, following the sound of Santana's booming voice.

-ooooooooooo-

"Noah! How can you eat that!"

Puck grinned and munched happily on his alligator tail. The park café was a little grungy, but everybody was in good spirits. Finn had only fallen in the water once, and that was only from the dock after they pulled back up to the mainland.

"Do you want some?" Puck spat half his mouthful across the table as he spoke; they definitely did _not_ want that.

"Come on Berry! Try it!" Santana yelled.

"San, inside voice."

"What?"

"Talk quieter."

"What?"

"Shhhh."

"What?"

"Good God, shut up!"

"Okay!" Artie broke in. "Who's ready to go fishing?"

"Ugghh," Quinn moaned, "it's so hot." She sagged to her right against Rachel, who giggled.

"Come on. Catch me a fish, baby."

Quinn smiled shyly against Rachel's shoulder. "Baby?"

"Yes Quinn. As in crybaby. You're being a crybaby…sweetie."

Quinn laughed and stood up. "Let's go _baby_. I'll catch you a fish."

"Dude, your phone's ringing again."

"It really isn't."

"…What?"

-oooooooooo-

"Brittany, you need a hook."

"What?"

"You just cast your line with a weight on the end. You need a hook."

"…Why?"

"…Um, so you can catch the fish."

"But I don't want to hurt them."

"But…you won't catch anything like that."

Brittany grinned happily and kept reeling in her useless line and Mike sighed and returned to his own. Quinn caught a fish within the first five minutes, mostly because these catfish seemed to be _insane_ and bit at everything that entered the water. Now she sat cross-legged on the dock playing with some bobbers and complaining about the heat to Rachel. They were interrupted by frantic shrieking coming from Mercedes.

"Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod! I got one! I got one!"

"Geez Mercedes, quiet down…" Santana said, receiving an incredulous look in return. Kurt stepped in before the Latina's body could end up at the bottom of the Everglades.

"Reel it in Mercedes! Pull-Ahh! Shit, what the hell!"

Brittany spun around as the weight on her line made contact with Kurt's face, mid-cast. She dropped the pole, which, of course, promptly sunk to the bottom of the swamp; Mike groaned.

"Kurt! I'm so sorry!"

"Guys! I need some help, this thing is a beast!"

"Don't move Rach." Quinn instructed, standing up to help Mercedes. The two, plus Puck, reeled in the fish, fighting valiantly for about five minutes.

Everybody else was expecting the Loch Ness monster on the end of the line. A Gyarados, a man-eating mutant gator, a blue whale, for all the effort that reeling it in seemed to require. So, when Puck pulled out the line to reveal a six inch Bluegill, the dock erupted in laughter.

"Hey, y'all shut up. That…switched places with whatever was on there before."

"Oh, I'm sure. Fish just love to unhook themselves and trade places to play practical jokes on humans."

"Damn right they do."

Quinn was still laughing when she saw Rachel standing up out of the corner of her eye. She watched in slow motion as Rachel's flip-flop caught a slat in the dock and the brunette stepped sideways to catch her balance. Quinn was moving back to her even before she stepped right off the dock and into the water.

"Rachel!" Quinn leapt right in after her, true to her word, even though she knew Rachel could stand in the water. She didn't want the girl to panic. Puck and Finn and _everybody_ else seemed like they wanted to follow, but settled for helping from the dock. Quinn came up behind Rachel, who was more or less standing, just coughing a little and definitely shocked. She wrapped her arms around the girl's waist from behind and steadied her against her body.

"Rach, sweetie, it's okay. Did you hurt yourself?" Quinn could feel Rachel shaking. She held her tighter and moved closer to the dock. "It's okay sweetie. Calm down, it's me. You're okay." She murmured into her ear. Mike and Finn reached down and grabbed Rachel's arms when she was close enough, easily lifting the small girl back onto the dock. Puck helped Quinn climb out and she pulled Rachel straight into her lap.

"It's okay Rach. Calm down." Quinn held Rachel as the girl's breathing evened out and the brunette relaxed back into her. The other glee clubbers sat around the dock watching quietly; Kurt held ice on his forehead and Mike and Tina tried to fish Brittany's pole out of the water using their own.

"Left. No, left. Stop, you're going _right_, go _left_."

"You're completely missing it."

"Go left more, it's called refraction."

"What?"

"They're not talking to you Santana."

"What?"

"Santana, stop talking!"

"Shut it, Hummel. Did you _know_ you look like the red Teletubby right now? Po. You look like Po."

"At least I don't look like Weird Al. Or, you know, the Creature From the Black Lagoon."

"Okay Mike, now back. Back. Back. Good. Slowly…"

"Yes! We got-Ohhh…"

"Shit."

Finn walked up and handed Quinn a blanket from the minibus; Quinn smiled gratefully and wrapped it around Rachel, before getting up and moving around to crouch in front of the girl.

"Rach? Are you okay sweetie?" she asked quietly. "It's just us, just Glee here, okay? You're just sitting on the dock, totally safe, okay?"

Rachel nodded and Quinn brushed the wet hair away from her face.

"Are you ready to go home?"

Rachel nodded again. The club moved quickly, packing up their stuff and heading back to the minibus. Mike and Tina finally retrieved the fishing pole, but knocked the tackle box in during their celebration. After ten minutes of fishing _that_ out of the water, they headed back to Key Largo.

-oooooooooo-

Quinn held tightly to Rachel all the way home. She reluctantly let go so that they could each shower, and now they were lying on their bunk listening to game night being played in the living room. It was still light outside; it had just started pouring and Quinn listened to the rain while she ran her fingers through Rachel's hair. The girl had spoken on the minibus, finally confirming that she was okay and laughing a little at herself. She had done exactly what Finn did, except _she_ had an excuse.

"Quinn." Rachel spoke barely above a whisper.

"Mmhm."

"Thank you for taking care of me. Not just today, this whole trip….Leading me around, being my _buddy._"

Quinn looked surprised. "Of course, Rach." She glanced down; Rachel looked deep in though, there was something else she wanted to say.

"What's wrong?" She prodded gently. Rachel sighed and crawled up a little until her forehead was against Quinn's cheek. They were both a little sweaty, seeing as it was _so_ hot and they were in that freaking tiny bed.

"I don't want you to always have to take care of me." She said quietly.

Quinn furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

Rachel sighed again and sat up, pulling Quinn with her. To Quinn's surprise, she reached out both hands, gently feeling Quinn's cheeks, then moving them around her jaw, up to her ears and her eyes, then ending on her lips. Quinn just sat still, breathing deeply. God, it was _so_ hot in there.

"You're beautiful Quinn. I want to see you." Quinn opened her mouth to speak but Rachel continued.

"I have a surgery scheduled, in a few weeks, when we get back home. To fix my eyes."

Quinn's mouth fell open and she was silent for a minute. Rachel grew nervous as she waited for her girlfriend to speak.

"Is…is it dangerous?"

Rachel nodded slightly while thinking. 'It's...new. It's for the optic nerve; I guess the only danger is, you know, lack of precedents."

Quinn nodded slightly. "And it's surefire? Like, when you leave that room, you'll see everything bright and clear?"

"No, it's not for sure. There's no guarantee it would work."

When Quinn didn't respond, Rachel kept talking.

"I don't want people to have to guide me my whole life. I don't want you to spend your life leading me carefully around; I don't want to hold anyone back-"

"Rachel, no!" Quinn took both her hands and stared straight into her eyes, even though they were unfocused and unseeing.

"You could never hold me back. _You're_ the one who's going to be a star. I'll be riding _your_ coattails to fame, sweetheart."

Rachel smiled slightly. "Riding my coattails, Quinn? _Really_? What a freeloader."

Quinn smiled too. "I love leading you around. I love being your buddy and being there when you experience new things. I love the looks on your face and your voice and your laugh and your beautiful brown eyes just the way they are…I love you."

Rachel took a second to process that, then beamed at Quinn, tears in her eyes.

"You just said you love me."

Quinn laughed. "I am aware."

"But I love you too."

Quinn laughed harder. God it was so hot in here. She was getting that light-headed, crazy feeling again. "Well, good."

She leaned in before Rachel could say anything else and kissed her girlfriend softly on the lips, then rested her forehead against Rachel's for a few moments. Indignant shouts of 'unfair play' and 'cheating whore' reached their ears from the living room.

"Come on, let's go join game night. Kurt's taking bets on how long it takes someone to break down in hysterics due to 'unfair banking' in Monopoly."

-ooooooooo-

"Pay up Puck."

"What, no! I rolled a six, not a five. I've already paid seven Luxury Taxes!"

"Yeah, and you'll keep paying as long as you keep landing there. Look, you can just mortgage your last property."

Puck groaned. "How does Rachel have a freaking hotel empire? She can't even count the damn money…Freaking psychic or something…"

"Hmmm, I'd say it's 'cause she's sleeping with the banker…" Santana murmured, stealing some of Artie's money as he looked away.

"Santana, your phone's ringing."

"What?"

"Hey, where'd my money go?"

"Puck, you're fifty short. Stop cheating."

"What! It's all there Quinn! You stop cheating!"

"Can someone answer the phone?"

"_There is no phone ringing_! Good Lord, I think you all need to see a doctor."

"What?"

"Puck! Give me my money!"

"Stop cheating!"

"Quinn, leave him alone; all he has is a double-mortgaged empty property to his name. He'll be bankrupt and begging for loans in five minutes."

"Fine. Santana you owe me a thousand."

"What?"

It took less than an hour for Santana to dissolve into tears and the board to be tossed upside down in the irrational hysterics that Monopoly always ended with; Rachel won the bet, gladly accepting money from everybody and smiling proudly when Quinn kissed her on the cheek in congratulations.

"Time for bed!"

"What?"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks so much for your input everybody! I do have a plan; no more winging it to see what spews out. Oh, and I got a little carried away with the raccoon thing because it happened to me.**

**I Can See For Miles**

**Chapter 7**

"Quinn, they're manatees, not man-eaters. Get in the damn water."

"Yeah girl, who gave you the impression that manatees are so _violent_?"

"Really Quinn, there were _sharks_ in the water when we went snorkeling last week but you're scared of the _sea cows_."

Quinn scoffed. "Oh yeah, Kurt, you can talk. You stepped on something slimy earlier and screamed like you were _dying_."

"In my defense, I _thought_ I was dying. My life flashed before my eyes."

Quinn just rolled her eyes and scooted closer to Rachel. They were on the beach of some crowded little cove a few miles from Kurt's Grandma's house, and nobody had been successful in convincing Quinn to swim with the manatees.

"I want to stay with Rachel." Quinn pouted, wrapping her arm around the girl's shoulders. Who could really argue with that, except, of course, Rachel.

"Awww, baby, that's sweet, but if you don't get your butt in that water in the next five minutes, I _will_ drag you in."

Quinn raised her eyebrow. "You'll _drag_ me in?"

"Mmhm."

Quinn still didn't move, smiling amusedly.

"Okay. Sit here. Avoid your 'hordes of violent manatees.' Just know, you're not getting any kisses for the rest of the day."

Quinn whipped her head to the side; she looked stricken. "What?"

Rachel just smirked.

Quinn sighed heavily and shifted to stand up. "_Fine_. I'll swim with the damn manatees."

"Good girl!" Rachel grinned brightly. "I'll get you something from the ice cream truck for when you get back."

"Are you sure?"

Rachel tapped her cane confidently. "I can beat the crowds away and use my powers of coercion to obtain free ice cream. It'll be great!"

"Give me a kiss first." Quinn leaned down with her face in front of Rachel's.

Santana groaned from a few feet away. "Yep, definitely just vomited in my mouth a little."

Rachel kissed Quinn sweetly on the lips, then ruffled the choppy blonde hair and shooed her away with the others. Artie would keep her company while the rest floated around with the manatees for a while.

Quinn was pleasantly surprised when she wasn't mobbed and assailed by massive, aggressive manatees the moment they saw her. She stayed close to Puck, figuring he would have the best chance of fighting them off if their gentle personalities took a turn for the worse. Then Puck left Quinn, so that he could dive down and retrieve Brittany's dropped goggles from the bottom of the sea.

She _did_ have a heart attack when Tina accidentally grazed her leg, and inhaled about seven gallons of water, but soon allowed herself to drift closer to the peaceful manatees. They really were cute, if you ignored some of the scars and weird bulges and whatever _that_ was growing on their backs. She swam back to the beach after about half an hour, towing Finn behind her because the boy was complaining of leg cramps and 'temporary paralysis.' Quinn deposited him on the sand where he could sort himself out and ran right over to Rachel.

She stood over the smaller girl, who was unaware of her presence, and smiled at Artie, putting a finger to her lips. Quinn stuck her arms out, dripping water on Rachel's bare stomach and giggling to herself. Artie rolled his eyes. Rachel ignored it and Quinn frowned, then grinned a moment later and wrung her hair out onto Rachel's stomach. Rachel gasped and shot up into a sitting position.

"Artie!"

"What! No, don't even _try_ to drag me into this. That was _your_ girlfriend, not me."

"Quinn?"

"Yes, baby?" Quinn draped her body over Rachel from behind.

"Stop doing that! Ugghh…Such a child…" Rachel muttered, reaching for a towel and squirming out of Quinn's dripping grasp.

"Where's my ice cream?"

"Hmmm, if you stop acting like you're _four_ I might tell you."

Quinn stayed quiet, smiling innocently at Rachel.

"So, you didn't get eaten by any manatees…" Rachel said a minute later.

Quinn's smile widened. "I didn't. They're _very_ nice…Did you get ice cream?"

Rachel shook her head smilingly at her girlfriend and reached for the cooler.

"Oh yeah, Rach here _definitely _got ice cream." Artie stated, laughing. "_First_, she yelled at this guy who cut in front of a little kid in line; then she _tripped _the same guy with her cane when he tried to cut her in line, thinking she wouldn't notice or something."

Quinn looked concerned and watched Rachel closely as the girl dug around the cooler. "Seriously?"

Artie nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, _then_ the ice cream man refused to sell this asshole guy any ice cream and he gave Rachel tons of free popsicles for her 'public service."

Rachel smiled shyly when Quinn wrapped her arms around her. "That's my girl." Quinn whispered, and then snorted when she caught sight of Rachel's yellow star-shaped popsicle.

"Perfect. That is _perfect_."

-oooooooooo-

Quinn didn't know how she ended up with these people. These crazy lunatics that she could somehow call her friends danced whimsically around Mrs. Hummel's living room to old Spice Girls hits as a storm raged outside. Mike and Puck shamelessly sang along to every word while the rest were trying to choreograph some sort of dance routine that could only end in tears and injury. Quinn knew she belonged here though, because she was one of the people screaming, "No! Step _forward_, then shake your hips! Shake them harder Finn!"

Eventually Brittany did poke Mercedes in the eye and the dance routine fell apart, so Quinn started to swing Rachel around the room instead; the girl's loud, full laughter was contagious. Tomorrow would be their last full day in Key Largo, and everybody wanted to make the most of it.

A particularly loud clap of thunder shook the house and its occupants.

"Jesus! Are we being bombed?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure my heart just stopped beating."

Lord Tubbington came streaking out of the bedroom and bolted straight towards Mercedes, who tripped over the coffee table in her haste to escape his wrath.

She groaned. "Okay, there is way too much crap in here. Puck, why did you bring seven bags and why are they all on the floor by the couch?"

"Um, there's actually nine and they're all Brittany's." Artie interjected.

"Oh, you're one to talk Mercedes. You are a certified hoarder. I looked in your closet once, you have _seventy-seven_ pairs of shoes."

"Seek help, girl."

"Uh, Brittany!" Finn called from the kitchen. "Your cat just sprung out the window."

Everybody paused their dancing and watched as Brittany and Santana sprinted through the kitchen door.

"Guys," Puck hissed, drawing their attention away, "there's something coming down the chimney."

"Puck, we're in Florida. That's a fake chimney, it doesn't _go_ anywhere-Ohmygod holy shit!" Kurt frantically scrabbled onto the couch as a loud crash came from the fake chimney.

"Oh yeah, it can climb up a freaking chimney but won't be able to reach you on the _sofa_." Mercedes stated, but looked a little shaken herself.

"Finn, get a broom. And a bucket."

"Why me?"

"You're the biggest."

"…Yeah, and the least coordinated. And what do you expect me to do with a bucket?"

"Just…do it like a spider."

"Oh_, just do it like a spider_, there's some advice you just can't go wrong with."

"Yeah, Mercedes we don't even know what's in there."

Quinn sighed when nobody seemed to be doing anything. Bunch of pansies. She handed Rachel off to Mike with a kiss on her cheek and strode over to the fireplace.

"I'll see what it is." She stated confidently, kneeling down.

"Whoa, wait! Don't stick your head up there!"

"It'll be fine."

"Really! You can't think of _anything_ that could go wrong?" Tina pressed.

Quinn rolled her eyes and stuck her head into the fireplace, tilting it up to look around the small space, seeing as there wasn't actually a chimney.

If she thought she had a heart attack when she kissed Rachel, she was wrong. If she thought she had one when that freaking fan started on the airboat, she was wrong. If she thought she had one when Tina brushed by her in the manatee cove, she was wrong. But now, face two inches away and staring into the beady black eyes of some _animal_, she was having a heart attack.

Quinn flailed backwards, all her muscles seizing in panic and adrenaline, and whacked her head on the mantel. She scrabbled away, the other glee clubbers shrieking at her reaction and stumbling around like headless chickens. They shrieked even louder as a raccoon emerged from the fireplace and skittered around the couch.

"Holy shit!"

"Quinn! Are you okay!"

"Get it! Get it!"

"Catch it! Open the door! Someone get a bucket!"

"Finn, get a bat!"

"What, no! Don't hit it!"

"Rachel, it traumatized your girlfriend!"

"Don't hit it!"

"It's flying!"

"Get me a gun!"

"Dude it's not a bat."

"Good Lord, why's everybody screa- Ahhhhhh!" Brittany emerged from the kitchen soaking wet and clutching a very angry cat in her arms. She dropped him as the raccoon shot out from behind the couch and both animals headed through the doorway, startling a very scratched up Santana as she rounded the corner. Puck took a swing at them with a broom from his perch on the coffee table, but only succeeded in breaking a vase.

"Get him Fatso cat!"

"Mercedes! What if he hurts him?"

"Oh girl, you know nothing can hurt that damn cat. He's freaking indestructible."

Mike led Rachel over to Quinn, who looked like she'd been scarred for life, as everybody else tried to restart their hearts now that the raccoon wasn't in the same room as them.

"Let's make a trap!"

"What? Dude, we're not Bear Grylls here. I don't know about you, but I can't even cut straight lines in printer paper."

"Just open the door."

"Yeah, let's open the door and let a whole fleet of them in."

Just then, Lord Tubbington came strolling back into the kitchen as if nothing had happened. Everybody eyed him warily, as if the raccoon now possessed his body.

"Someone check the kitchen."

Puck grabbed his broom and tip-toed into the kitchen. A minute later he reemerged. "It went out the window." He stated.

The room breathed a sigh of relief. Rachel continued to rub her hands comfortingly up and down Quinn's arms; the girl was gradually becoming more responsive and trying to cling on to whatever dignity she had left.

"You are _very_ brave Quinn."

Quinn smiled. "Whatever Rachel. You can laugh at me, I know you want to."

"Never baby. Just…that scream, I have never heard anything like it before." Rachel couldn't contain her laughter and the rest of the room joined in, still high on killer-raccoon-attacking-from-the-fireplace-induced adrenaline rushes. Quinn got up and shoved them all, reminding them of their own mindless, shameless shrieking, and turned the Spice Girls back on, as the stereo had been turned off to better strategize raccoon removal techniques, not that that helped _at all._

Ten minutes later, although most of the club was still too scared to go into the kitchen or within a five foot radius of the fireplace, they danced like spastics around the living room to _Wannabe_, singing at the top of their lungs and pretending to look for Lord Tubbington, who had yet to return.

-oooooooooo-

Quinn woke up on the morning of their last day in Key Largo the same way she had every other morning; Rachel was wrapped tightly in her arms and one of her limbs was stuck through the slats of that freaking tiny bed. The club spent the morning bandaging Mercedes up because apparently Lord Tubbington had shown up with a vengeance in the middle of the night, and hauling the jet skis to the water behind the house. Now, everybody was lying on the beach watching Puck on one jet ski race Kurt and Mercedes on another.

Kurt seemed to be treating his like he was taking a driving test, while Puck skimmed around not caring that he was nearly violently thrown into the whitewater with every turn.

"Oh no."

Quinn turned around to face the house when she heard Tina's lament. Finn was lugging out a large hotdog-shaped, five-seater raft, obviously to be towed behind a jet ski. Mike came into view with a smaller, two-seater raft just as Puck and Kurt ran the jet skis up onto the beach.

"Dibs on the this one!" Mike called.

"Uh, I really don't wanna ride that one." Puck said, gesturing at the giant hot dog.

"Why not?"

Puck hesitated and Kurt stepped in for him. "It's gay." He stated bluntly.

"It does look really…sexual." Artie observed.

"It'll be fun!" Finn encouraged. "Come on!" He hauled it out to the water and left it to float where everybody could climb on. Kurt and Mercedes went to tow Mike and Tina around on the smaller raft, while Finn, Rachel, Quinn, Brittany, and Santana resigned themselves to being towed by Puck. Artie had his video camera out; this was bound to be YouTube gold.

Rachel sat on the front and Quinn wrapped her arms around her from behind; she didn't want anybody molesting her girlfriend on a giant hot dog.

"Can I get pregnant from this?" Santana asked, climbing on behind Finn. She seemed a little too excited about what they were about to do.

Puck towed them slowly out of shallow water, and then let loose once they were out past the breakers. He sped them around, over the waves, _through_ the waves, turning sharply and inflicting whiplash on every single one of his passengers.

"This is wrong on so many levels…" Quinn muttered in Rachel's ear when their heads knocked together for the fourth time. Rachel pulled Quinn's arms tighter around her stomach. It was fun though; when they got over the sexual/creepy aspect of the raft, they started directing Puck and racing Kurt, laughing when Mike and Tina were catapulted as their light raft flew ten feet into the air.

It was all fun and games until the hot dog started sinking. This is when Artie pressed record on his video camera. Rachel, God knows how, that girl's freaking _one with the world_, was the first to notice they were sinking.

"Um, Quinn, is the raft deflating?" She asked in one of Puck's lulls, caused by Santana screaming that he had broken her neck.

Quinn looked down and realized that yes, in fact, it was. "Puck! We're sinking!" She called out to him.

"Whoa, we are!" Finn looked around and realized it as well.

"Okay. Who popped the hot dog? Which one of you bitches has the spiky ass?"

"Wow. That's charming Santana."

"Aren't you the one who carries razor blades in your hair? Judging by the state of it…I'd say you could fit several thousand in there right now. One probably fell out."

"Puck, shut up." Quinn said. "Take us to shore."

The water now reached their butts and the front of the hot dog was half submerged. Puck tried to go, but the raft was too far underwater, the drag was too intense. It was like a few days ago when they'd tried knee-boarding, and Kurt had been dragged face first through the water for a hundred yards, leaving a wake like Shamu. That certainly cleared his nasal passages right up.

Finn slid off the side of the hot dog and Santana and Brittany sighed and followed him. Quinn loosened her hold on Rachel and leaned in to talk to her.

"I'm gonna get in, okay Rach?" Quinn did as she said when Rachel nodded, and doggy-paddled against the girl's calf.

"Come on, get on my back."

"Are you sure Quinn? I don't want you to strain yourself."

"Yeah, come on. Puck, don't run us over!"

Rachel still looked hesitant.

"Rachel, you'll be in the water anyway in like six seconds. Just ride me to shore."

Now Rachel looked amused. Quinn rolled her eyes and impatiently tugged the girl's arm.

Rachel slid off the raft and situated herself piggy-back on Quinn, who swam them to shore, avoiding the waves, followed by Puck and the deflated hot dog.

"Well, that was fun while it lasted." Santana stated, watching Puck valiantly try to reinflate the raft using his mouth. "Oh, and that's not gay at all."

They spent a few more hours playing in the water and the sand, building sand castles and injuring themselves on skim boards.

"Dude, do you have a shovel?" Mike asked. Thirty minutes later he had buried himself in a five foot hole that it took four other people to dig him out of. Artie won the sand castle competition when he 'accidentally' rolled over Quinn's masterpiece and Kurt turned into the bright red Teletubby again, while Santana's hair had reached its maximum potential, apparently, and ceased to grow, at only eleven times its normal size.

They had a dinner of hamburgers and veggie-burgers with flaming buns and French fries with sugar on them, as opposed to salt.

"They look exactly the same!" Brittany argued.

Everybody went to bed happy and exhausted, preparing themselves for the long drive tomorrow. They needed sleep to survive thirteen hours with Finn Hudson at the wheel.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Song's 'Just a Kiss' by Lady A. Luv you guys!**

**I Can See For Miles**

**Chapter 8**

"_Lying here with you so close to me_

_It's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe_

_Caught up in this moment_

_Caught up in your smile_

"_I've never opened up to anyone_

_So hard to hold back when I'm holding you in my arms_

_We don't need to rush this_

_Let's just take it slow"_

"Quinn?" Rachel lifted up her head from Quinn's chest and felt around her surroundings.

"Mmm, _finally_ woke up, huh sleepy?"

"Someone seems to be _serenading_ me in the middle of the night…."

"It's five a.m. Rach, we have to get up soon."

Rachel groaned and rolled fully into Quinn's arms. "Finish the song." She whispered a minute later.

Quinn grinned against her forehead. "Say please."

"_Please_ finish my song baby."

Quinn looked back to the window; the early morning light was shining off Rachel's _perfect_ brown eyes, so she kissed her girlfriend and continued singing softly.

"_Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight_

_Just a touch of the fire burning so bright_

_No I don't wanna mess this thing up_

_I don't wanna push too far_

_Just a shot in the dark that you just might_

_Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life_

_So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight"_

"Guys, we can _hear_ you." Artie complained from below, Finn grumbling incoherently along with him. "And I have _eleven_ more minutes of sleep so you need to freaking contain yourselves."

-ooooooooo-

The Glee Club sleepily boarded the minibus about an hour later, mostly still clad in pajamas and bed hair, toting blankets and pillows that they had stolen from each other throughout their stay. They shared a nice goodbye with Mrs. Hummel, a few hugs and tears for the woman who put up with them for these few weeks, dipped their toes in the ocean for the final time, and scoured the house for the seven thousand items people seemed to have lost. They now sat on the minibus waiting for Brittany to locate her cat.

"Mercedes, I'm sure if you admit it now she won't be angry."

"Excuse me?"

"Did she check the fireplace?"

Quinn groaned. "No. Nobody is _ever_ going near a fireplace _ever again,_ okay?"

"Were you insinuating that I 'took care of' that freak cat?"

"No, actually, I was insinuating that you _killed_ it and disposed of the body."

"I'll _kill_ you and dispose of _your_ body."

Just then, Kurt bounded on board, the only person fully dressed and actually presentable. He looked around in confusion.

"Where's Brittany?"

"Searching for that damn cat."

"What? It's in one of her gazillion bags; I saw her stuff him in there twenty minutes ago. She was yelling at me about 'the importance of always knowing where your animal is.'

"Um…" Mike trailed off and reached cautiously for the largest of Brittany's nine bags. Sure enough, a massive cat shot out the opening once it was large enough and headed straight for Brittany, who looked like a sobbing wreck boarding the minibus.

"Tubby! I thought we were gonna leave you in Florida!"

Once again, Mercedes looked disappointed.

Finn finally started the engine and the bus rolled away from their little haven in Key Largo. For once, everybody on board was quiet. Quinn sat sideways in her seat, head against the window and legs over Rachel's lap, sticking into the aisle. Her girlfriend was tracing the sheep on her pajama legs, soothing Quinn to sleep in a neck-breaking position. Finn was trying to figure out how to work the AC, _again_, alternately blasting the heat and the windshield wiper fluid while veering off the road in his distraction.

Miraculously, they made it out of Florida in eight hours, only stopping eleven times before reaching Georgia. They were an hour from Tennessee when Quinn registered that the bus was drifting to the right.

"Finn!" Puck yelled from the back before she could say anything. "What are you doing? Are you sleeping? You're running us into the damn swamp!"

"Dude, it's not me! I'm awake!"

"Pull over!"

Finn slowed and pulled onto the grassy verge, nearly catapulting them into the ditch that separated the highway from the forest. He got out, ignoring the groans and swearing and 'Finn, can you pick me one of those yellow flowers by the side of the road?' One glance at his face through the window and everybody knew that they had a flat tire. Of course.

Expecting that it would take seven hours for them to figure out how to change it, Quinn nudged Rachel in the stomach with her foot, wanting to follow everybody else outside.

"Rachel, wake up." Rachel tilted a little to the side, then jumped awake from the falling sensation.

"Quinn?"

"Yeah sweetie," Quinn grinned fondly at her confused expression and rumpled pink pajamas, "we have a flat tire. Let's get off the bus okay? We'll die like dogs if we stay in here."

"That's not very nice." Rachel mumbled, allowing Quinn to smooth down her crazy sleep hair and lead them out onto the side of the road, where eight other pajama-clad people stood watching _Kurt_ look for a jack.

"Do we really need one?" Mercedes asked, sitting cross-legged in the grass.

"A jack? No, of course not. We can just lift up this _bus_ using our superhuman strength to change the tire." Puck answered, writhing around on his back under the vehicle.

"Where's the spare?"

"You're sitting on it."

"Where's the twisty metal bolt thing?"

"Oh shit I'm sitting in an ant pile."

"Is this the 'twisty metal bolt thing?"

"Oh my God! Put that back Santana! Why are you even in the engine?"

"What state are we in?"

"God, it's _so_ hot."

"Mexico."

"Found a jack!"

"Holy crap, that semi almost hit us! We should roll a few feet to the right."

"No way Mike. We'll wind up in a ditch on the edge of the freaking Chattahoochee National Forest. Not gonna happen."

"Yeah, I'd much rather be side-swiped by a semi and _die_ on a highway in Georgia."

"_I'm_ gonna die on a highway in Georgia if these ants don't settle down."

"Get out of the damn ant bed then."

"This whole freaking verge is an ant bed!"

"Dude, what is on your pajamas?"

"They're _bananas_."

"Why the fu- Hey! A cop!"

Everybody turned and watched as a highway patrolman exited his car and walked up to them, glancing amusedly at their pajamas and obvious disarray.

"Are you all alright over here?"

"Yes sir." Finn spoke up, still brushing hoards of ants off of Mercedes' legs. "Flat tire."

The officer nodded. "Are you kids on a field trip, or…"

"More like a vacation. We're going home to Ohio."

The highway patrolman eyed them all carefully; they could easily pass for a cult of serial killers, but mostly he saw a gang of clueless, pajama-clad teenagers trying to change a tire with the jack in the wrong place. He saw a Latina girl with some pretty extensive hair issues messing around in the engine, God knows why, with a blonde girl threading yellow flowers through her hair. There was a mohawked kid who could quite possibly be stuck under the bus and a tall guy wearing banana pajamas brushing fire ants off of a frantic black girl. He spied someone sleeping in a wheelchair in CatDog pajamas and an Asian with a girl draped on his back standing so far back from the road they would be in the ditch soon. There was another blonde girl with major bedhead/lion issues supporting a small, pouty brunette in the brightest, most optimistic pajamas he'd ever seen. He saw a young-looking boy, the only one that was actually _dressed_, and the only one who seemed to know what he was doing. Finally he smiled at them all and pointed at the jack.

"That," he started, looking at Kurt, "goes there." He gestured to the _correct_ spot for the jack, got back in his car, and drove away. Those kids would be fine. Kurt finally started to change the tire.

"When that collapses and _crushes_ him, don't say I didn't warn you."

"He's not gonna be _under _the car Santana…Wait, Finn, get out from under there!"

"Quinn, is your girlfriend alright?"

"Mmhm. She's just being grumpy 'cause she's tired and hot and _way down yonder on the Chattahoochee_…Hey, don't hit me."

"Where did those bolts go?"

"Oh no! I left my hair brush in Florida!"

"They rolled into the ditch."

"Really. And you couldn't bring yourself to _stop_ them."

"Shit, my phone charger's lying in that freaking tiny bunk bed!"

"I will _laugh_ at your funeral when you go after those bolts and get killed by ants."

"It's _so_ hot out here."

"Dammit! _And_ my camera I left behind!"

"Done! Back on board! Finn, do something with this." Kurt rolled the flat tire in Finn's direction as everybody filed back onto the minibus. Then they spent ten minutes trying to pull back out into eighty mile-an-hour traffic.

"Go now! Shit, no! Wait!"

"After the green car!"

"Everybody hold on!"

"That's not green."

"Really?"

"Nah, more of a turquoise-blue."

"Shut up, I can't think!"

"Dude, you coulda gone!"

"Go!"

Finn took off into the near lane screaming incoherently. Quinn sat back in her seat holding Rachel against her side with her eyes closed, praying the other drivers would avoid them and that their newly replaced tire wouldn't fly off a la _Final Destination_.

The spare tire went careening up and down the aisle, but they evened out after spinning some wheels and sharing some expletives, settling back into the drive home.

-oooooooooo-

Nine hours later, the minibus rolled into, well, less rolled, more violently swerved, into the parking lot of a hotel in Tennessee. Nobody even bothered bringing their bags, seeing as they were still in pajamas from that morning, and they traipsed up to their rooms exhaustedly, collapsing on random beds with random people in their daze.

They woke up to another 'air raid' alarm; both phones were unceremoniously hurled at the wall by Santana and Quinn, ignoring the vague moans of objection from their roomies.

It was midday and they were halfway through Kentucky before anybody fully awoke. Quinn's head was in Rachel's lap, her body sprawled across the aisle, enjoying the small hands running through her hair and memorizing her face. She was watching Mike, Puck, and Brittany use her as a hurdle, waiting for the perfect opportunity to stick a leg up and trip one of them in midair.

"Hey Rach," Quinn spoke softly, even as she casually hooked a foot around Puck's ankle and sent him sprawling on the floor.

"Hey you."

Rachel left her hands on Quinn's jaw as her girlfriend spoke. "You should tell them."

Rachel didn't speak for a moment and Quinn watched her; she seemed conflicted, a little worried.

"They'll support you, you know. Whatever you do, whatever happens."

"I don't want them to be disappointed if it…doesn't work out."

"How will _you_ feel if it doesn't work out? Are you…ready for that?"

Rachel was silent, and Quinn watched tears slowly fill her perfect eyes; she reached her hand up and ran it over the scar on Rachel's chin.

"I _really_ want it to work out." Rachel finally whispered. Quinn nodded and Rachel felt it, continuing a moment later in a lighter tone. "But…then I wouldn't get free ice cream; I couldn't play ignorant to all the shenanigans that are _probably_ going on right now." Quinn smiled, preparing to trip Mike on his next jump over her legs.

"And I couldn't beat people up with my cane." Rachel smiled slightly now, running her fingers over Quinn's own upturned lips.

"You _would_ still get free ice cream, sweetie, because _nothing _can resist that adorable pout and those perfect eyes except a soulless asshole."

Rachel giggled a little and shoved her for 'swearing.' Quinn laughed and bit the finger that was still running over her lips.

"Ow! Hey!"

"You _baby_. You know that didn't hurt."

Rachel huffed and annoyingly ruffled Quinn's bedhead some more.

Quinn smiled, lifted up her leg, and watched as Brittany went flying to the floor, amused at the girl's hysterical laughing. She then closed her eyes and buried her face in Rachel's stomach to escape any wrath that Santana might send her way.

-oooooooooo-

"You guys, I'm gonna document this trip one day. Like, write a book or something."

"I would totally buy it, Artie."

"Yeah! It would be a cross of _Chicken Soup_ and _Worst Case Scenario Survival Guide_."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, _that'll _line the shelves."

"We should do this again, like every year."

"Uh, somewhere less _hot_ next time, please." Quinn called out.

"Mexico?"

"I thought we were in Mexico."

"Oh dude, definitely Europe."

"Good God, it'll be worse than the _Jersey Shore_."

"What state are we in?"

-oooooooooo-

"Finn! Turn on the AC!"

"It's on!"

"Uh, no. Pretty sure you've been blasting the heat for the last fifty miles."

Finn fiddled with some dials, cut off someone in the next lane, and switched the air to cold.

"Ha! Got it."

"Dude, you just missed our exit."

"What? Where?"

"Back there, obviously."

"Rachel, _stop singing_! He can't concentrate."

"Hey!" Quinn glared at Kurt and joined in on Rachel's song.

Finn turned around at the next exit, and finally pulled off in Lima, Ohio.

-oooooooooo-

"He's gonna do it again, just watch." Mike spoke quietly in the seat behind Quinn.

"No way," Tine replied, "What are the chances?"

"Here we go." Artie called out.

"This is happening. Right now."

_Crash_.

Finn ran over the newly replaced mailbox, swearing loudly, as he pulled into his driveway. Nobody moved as they came to a stop; they had grown _very_ fond of this minibus. Finally they stepped out to say their goodbyes, for now, before getting in their own cars and going home. They made plans to hit up a waterpark together in a few weeks before school would start, then they exchanged many belongings that had been passed around and believed to be lost, and went their separate ways, still laughing at the way Burt scolded Finn over his _two_ destroyed mailboxes.

Quinn drove Rachel home and walked her to the door, trying to disguise her panic attack over not being able to see this girl for twelve hours.

"I'll come over tomorrow, right?"

"Bright and early."

"Five a.m.?"

"Quinn!" Rachel laughed loudly, making Quinn smile. "You're the one who says we shouldn't be up before the sun."

"But…for you."

Rachel smiled fondly at her. "I love you."

"I love _you_." Quinn leaned down and kissed her goodbye, deeply, delaying the inevitable. She loved the feel of Rachel's small hands running over her face, down her back, _memorizing_ her, and she loved the feel of the small girl in her arms, her own adorable teddy bear, with _perfect _brown eyes. She realized one thing then, she would _actually miss_ that freaking tiny bed.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay guys, probably one more chapter after this, then an epilogue. Question, would you guys be interested in a sequel? A trip to somewhere else like Artie mentioned before, you know. Your thoughts are much appreciated!**

**I Can See For Miles**

**Chapter 9**

Quinn knew it had only been a matter of time before she fell down some stairs. _Rachel's_ stairs. She was due; a month in a house with no staircase had simply delayed the inevitable. This is what she was thinking as she sat awkwardly halfway down the staircase, clutching her shins and tailbone, which had all gracefully ricocheted against the steps and banister as she fell, and hissing in pain. She _knew_ she had been too eager to get back to Rachel; her feet moved faster than her eyes. Damn her irresistible girlfriend. Quinn just hoped that Rachel hadn't heard that impossible-to-ignore, reminiscent-of-the-airboat-fan crashing sound. _Of course_ Rachel had heard it. She would be damned if she was going to ignore her most important sense as her girlfriend tumbled down the staircase to her doom.

"Quinn! Quinn! What was that? Where are you? Are you okay?" Rachel stood at the bottom of the stairs listening anxiously. Quinn had to admit, it was a nice change from the "Goodness Quinnie! What's that racket? Oh, you fell down the stairs! Hahahaha!" that her mom usually provided her with.

"I'm here, Rach." Quinn breathed out, trying to calm her girlfriend's frantic, concerned expression.

"Where?" Rachel asked, climbing slowly up the stairs. Quinn didn't answer, as Rachel felt her head and plopped down next to her on the step.

"Did you hurt yourself, baby?"

Quinn chuckled wryly. "No. Just bruises."

"Quinn, you need to be more careful." Quinn just smiled and rested her head on Rachel's shoulder. "It's probably because you got here at _six a.m. _and still haven't recovered enough from your disorientation to function on a flight of stairs."

"Mmhm. I'm never coming over again."

"No! You haven't even met my dads!"

"That's unfortunate."

"Quinn!"

"Rachel!"

Rachel pouted and shrugged Quinn's head off her shoulder.

"Carry me to the couch." Quinn said, smiling at her girlfriend. Rachel had to laugh.

"Yes, have the tiny, _blind_ girl carry you down a flight of stairs. Quinn, we'll _both_ end up terribly injured in a heap at the bottom."

Quinn grinned, "In a heap with _you_."

"Oh God. Come on dork." Rachel took Quinn's hand and escorted her down the rest of the stairs and into the living room. Quinn thought it felt nice, being led around by Rachel. She grinned fondly as the smaller girl expertly navigated around the coffee table and on to the couch. They settled in to wait for Rachel's fathers to get home.

-oooooooooo-

"Shhhh! Leroy, you'll wake them up."

"Pssh. Come one, they're out like rocks."

"Leave them alone; they're tired."

"I just wanna see her in person."

Hiram grumbled but followed along.

"Awww, look honey, they're adorable!"

"Shhhh!"

"She's gorgeous! Hiram, come see."

"Mmhm."

"They're like fluffy puppies!"

Okay. Quinn was getting a little freaked out now. She had woken up as soon as the door had shut, but she didn't want to meet the parents without _Rachel_ awake as well. Now, she was feigning sleep and trying to ignore the fact that Leroy Berry was two feet away from her face, examining her closely, the girl who had their _daughter_ wrapped up tightly in her arms.

Rachel started moving then, presumably woken by Leroy's excess giggles and Hiram's repeated shushes. Quinn panicked for a moment, before settling on a plan to have Rachel 'pretend' wake her up.

"Rachel?" Leroy said excitedly. Hiram rolled his eyes.

"Dad? Daddy?" Rachel lifted her head up, then gasped a moment later. "Dad! Daddy!" She felt for Quinn's shoulder and shook it gently. Normally Quinn would wake up with a moan and some swearing and shoving, but _luckily_, she wasn't actually asleep!

"Quinn!" Rachel whispered insistently. Her dads looked on, very amused.

"Mmm, Rach. What?" Quinn thought her acting was amazing. Purely phenomenal.

"My dads are here."

Quinn shot up, figuring that would be the appropriate reaction. She retrieved her arm from across Rachel's waist, stood up from the couch, and smoothed down her crazy hair as best she could. Rachel smiled as she felt the flurry of activity.

"Dad. Daddy. This is Quinn Fabray. My girlfriend." Rachel grinned proudly as she said this.

"Mr. Berry. Uh, Berrys. It's nice to meet you."

Leroy laughed warmly and shook her outstretched hand. "Leroy, please. And this is Hiram." He said, gesturing to the smiling man beside him. "It's wonderful to meet you too, Quinn. We've heard _so_ much about you!"

"Daddy, don't."

"Apparently you are, what was it Rach, the most _amazing_ girl on the face of the Earth?" Rachel ducked her head, blushing furiously and Quinn smiled down, comfortably resting a hand on top of the brown hair. "Gorgeous? Protective? Sweet? Clumsy? Adorably annoying? Hmmm, Rach I can't remember! Which one was it?"

"Leroy, stop." Hiram said, watching his daughter and this girl who seemed to be calming her with a hand on her head. "She's nearly crying from embarrassment." Hiram had to chuckle a little when, at the mention of 'crying,' Quinn ducked her head down lightning fast to check Rachel's dangerously red face. She confirmed that, no, her girlfriend was _not_ crying, kissed her on the cheek, and straightened back up, smiling bashfully at the floor.

"You're so mean, Daddy." Rachel muttered.

"It's what I do, honey."

"So, Quinn, pizza?" Hiram asked, ignoring his husband's antics.

Quinn nodded gratefully and followed him in to the kitchen to order.

This is how it went for another week and a half. Rachel's dads accepted her like one of their own, 'we've never seen our baby girl so happy!' They watched movies together; they cooked together; Leroy taught Quinn how to spin out a pizza crust, yeah_, that_ went terribly awry, but incited peals and peals of laughter. Hiram gave her the 'I-like-you-but-don't-you-dare-hurt-my-daughter speech' and smiled proudly at Quinn when she tripped some lady in the supermarket who was ogling Rachel and her cane. Quinn returned home every night to chill with her mom, and finally broke the news to her.

"Oh my God! Quinnie! Bring her here! I need to meet her!"

The next morning Quinn escorted an excited Rachel up the path to her house, narrowing her eyes at her mother watching them through the curtains with two thumbs up.

"Ahhh, Quinn! She's beautiful!"

"Hello Ms. Fabray!"

"Rachel! It's so good to meet you!" Judy yelled.

"Mom, she's blind, not deaf. Settle down."

"Quinnie! She's wonderful!" Rachel beamed and Quinn laughed.

"I know."

-oooooooooo-

Today was the day. All their anticipation and anxiety and hope and hours of deliberation and doubt would end today. Tomorrow, Rachel would either have her sight back, or she would be blind for the rest of her life. Quinn was _not_ prepared to handle this day. She had spent the night with Rachel, after assuring the girl's fathers that it was purely to be there for her girlfriend. Rachel lay curled up into her side now; Quinn was on her back, _freaking out_ and fighting back tears. What if something goes wrong? What if it doesn't work and Rachel falls into some sort of _doom_ pit of depression? What if she does get her sight back and flies off the handle because she can't coerce free ice cream out of people?

Quinn needed to stop this. Soon she would be introducing hordes of vicious manatees into her what-ifs.

"Quinn? Are you awake?" Rachel's raspy voice cut through her thoughts. She composed herself quickly and let out a shaky breath.

"Yeah, Rach." She whispered.

Rachel didn't say anything for a moment, but reached her hand up and felt for Quinn's cheek with her thumb.

"You were crying." Rachel said concernedly, sitting up slightly to wipe _all_ the tears away.

Quinn sighed and stilled Rachel's hands. "Are you sure you want to do this Rach?"

Rachel answered immediately. "Yes…Why? Are you _unsure_?"

"No." Quinn pulled Rachel tighter. "I just need to know…everything will be okay, right?."

"Of _course_, Quinn…Listen, we'll get through today, and we'll get through tomorrow, and every single day after that. We'll go to New York, no matter what happens; I _will_ be on Broadway, no matter what anybody tells me, and you _will_ be by my side. No arguments." Quinn chuckled at that. "So, yes, everything will be okay. Everything. Will. Be. Okay."

Quinn breathed deeply and smiled; this was so backwards, but, it's not like they had ever been particularly straight, right. "You're right, Rach. Always so right. Let's do this, baby." Rachel nodded determinedly.

Quinn ducked down and kissed her deeply. She kept her eyes closed, memorizing Rachel's face with her hands and her lips, the same thing Rachel always does with her. Quinn traced her hands down the smaller girl's back, and then back up and into mussed up brunette hair. Rachel's hands relearned the blonde's body, committing it to memory, just in case she never had the pleasure of seeing it for herself.

"Quinn! Rachel!" Quinn rocketed up off the bed as Hiram called from down the hall. "Get ready to go girls! Rach, remember, no breakfast this morning."

Rachel looked amused as she heard Quinn thudding chaotically around the bed and furniture; she knew her girlfriend was probably halfway across the room now, throwing random clothes on _over_ her pajamas.

"Oh, and the appointment's at noon!" Hiram called again.

"I thought you said it was at nine!" Leroy shouted from downstairs.

"No, _noon_. N-o-o-n."

"Then why are we going for _nine_?"

"We're going for noon!"

"What? So we're leaving three hours early?"

"No! We have to be there at _nine_!"

"Did you say _noon_ or _nine_?"

"Ohmygod! Daddy, the appointment is at twelve! We need to be there at nine! Stop yelling across the house!" Rachel's request was met by silence.

-oooooooooo-

The nervous energy surrounding the morning built as the foursome climbed into the car. It grew when they rolled out onto the road, and was palpable at every stop sign and red light. It simmered in the waiting room and then the prep room, Quinn helping Rachel into her gown and onto the bed, and then reached a boiling point as the nurses came in to wheel her away.

Quinn leaned over the bed and wrapped Rachel into a bone-crushing hug. No, she was not letting this girl go. Nobody could just wheel Rachel away from her; she would stay like this for the rest of her life and everything would be perfectly fine.

"Quinn." Hiram said gently. "Honey, come on." He touched her shoulder when the girl still didn't move.

Quinn sighed deeply into Rachel's neck. "I'll be there when you wake up, baby." She whispered.

"You better."

Quinn finally pried herself away from Rachel and watched as Leroy and Hiram hugged their daughter before she was wheeled away. Quinn looked at her phone, twenty seconds down, four hours to go before she could see her girlfriend again. She headed out to the waiting room with Rachel's dads' arms around her shoulders.

A minute down.

Four minutes down.

Four and a half.

Six.

Six minutes ten seconds.

"Quinn, stop honey. Why don't you go and get some snacks."

"Oh, no, don't do that Quinn. I got a Hostess Cupcake from the vending machine a while back and I _still _wake up with food poisoning."

Quinn smiled at that, then cringed at the image, and jumped when her phone rang.

"Quinn!"

"Finn?"

"Yeah, okay good, I caught you. Look, the guy who owns the minibus picked it up yesterday, but he just called and said he found tons of stuff, like, lost in it. Or something, under the seats and stuff. I need to know if any of it is yours."

"…Uh, okay."

"So, there's seven cartons of Play-Doh-"

"What? Who even- no sorry, go ahead. That's not mine."

"Earplugs, a lighter, a cat brush, cat vomit-"

"That'll be Brittany's, Finn. Well, Lord Tubbington's."

"Right, anyway, four Lego men, a squirt gun, a bottle of guacamole paste, goggles, a camera-"

"Oh yes! That's mine! I thought I left it in Florida."

"Really? Awesome! It's disposable right?"

"Shit. Okay, not mine."

"Awww, okay, then a Harry Potter wand, a bag of yellow flowers, some underwear-"

"Oh God."

"I know, right. Plus some glow sticks, shoelaces, a swim fin, and a polar bear stuffed animal."

"Wow. No, none of that's mine."

"Oh! And a Seminole headdress with matching mini-bongo drum."

"Good Lord, I associate with mental patients."

Finn just laughed.

"See you next week, Finn." Quinn said, rolling her eyes and hanging up. She smiled when she realized at least ten minutes had passed without checking her phone. Maybe she could wait four hours, it couldn't be _that_ long.

Four minutes later, Quinn was sure she'd gone insane. God, what was taking them so long? Hiram and Leroy had given up trying to distract her, and sat in their seats calmly watching the TV. Quinn got up and stalked around the hospital floor, contemplating going through some official-looking double doors, but fearing getting thrown out and not seeing Rachel for a _whole day_. She passed the time listening to her iPod and walking through all the corridors. Then she sat back down and watched TV, fidgeting around and bouncing her legs until she sat sideways in her chair and caught sight of the doctor out of the corner of her eye.

"Leroy, Hiram."

They stood up to greet him and Quinn stuck to their side.

"She's out of surgery now. We had no complications, but we won't know if it was successful until she can take the bandage off in seventy-two hours."

Leroy and Hiram nodded along. "Can we see her now?"

"Yes of course." The doctor smiled warmly at the blonde girl clinging to their side and led them to Rachel's room. Quinn went straight to her girlfriend, who had yet to wake up, took her hand, and plopped herself on the edge of the bed. She was _never_ leaving this girl again.

-oooooooooo-

Rachel woke up a couple hours later and slowly smiled as she realized that the weight near her leg was Quinn. Rachel squeezed her hand and Quinn whipped her head around; she caught sight of her girlfriend's grin and pounced very gently on top of her for a hug, as gently as one can pounce.

"Oh my God, Rach, that surgery lasted for _days_. I'm _never_ letting you go anywhere again."

"Awww, don't be dramatic Quinn. It was only a few hours."

"No. Don't tell me that. It was like, seventeen hours, not a few. How do you feel, sweetie?" Quinn brushed Rachel's hair out of her eyes and sat back upright.

"Mmm, tired."

"Yeah? You should sleep, baby. I'll still be here."

That's how Quinn remained for seventy-two hours, moving only to go home for a change of clothes, to snack on vending machine Hostess Cupcakes, and to go to the bathroom when she suffered the food poisoning from those cupcakes, Leroy laughing the whole time.

Now she stood to the side of Rachel's bed, next to her fathers, as the doctor unwound the bandage from Rachel's eyes. She was definitely having a quiet heart attack. Or a panic attack. An aneurysm. A stroke. God, it's _so_ hot in here. Nothing, however, could stop her from holding Rachel's hand.

The bandage fell away and Rachel blinked a few times, still facing straight ahead. She closed her eyes for a full minute, then opened them again, squinting and widening repeatedly. Good Lord, Quinn was going to die.

Then Rachel turned to face Quinn, who found the strength somewhere _deep_ inside herself to not pass out, to remain standing, to force her damn heart to keep beating.

Rachel tilted her head up.

Then she locked eyes with Quinn.

Both girls, along with the two grown men in the room, dissolved into tears.


	10. Chapter 10

**I Can See For Miles**

**Chapter 10**

_What is she doing? Can she see me? Oh my God. Oh my God. She sees me. She can see me now. She can see me now! Oh my God. Ohmygodohmygod. She can see me! _

-oooooooooo-

Quinn had read somewhere that humans blink at least once every ten seconds, maybe a few times a minute if the person is focused on something. Either way, she was _sure_ Rachel hadn't blinked in, like, twenty minutes. God, her girlfriend's eyes were going to _dry_ out and she would be blind _again_. It was sweet though, and adorable and endearing that Rachel refused to close her eyes for even a millisecond when her body didn't force her. Why would she, when she could walk around with her eyes fixed on her gorgeous blonde girlfriend. She was only catching up after a decade of blindness.

A week after Rachel's surgery, Quinn had yet to pull herself together. She _had_ managed to keep her heart beating and maintain consciousness but God, she was a _mess_. A crazy, happy, hot mess that Rachel could now witness with her own eyes! Every time Rachel met her eyes Quinn dissolved into the sappy heap from the hospital room; every time Rachel said 'you have fluff in your hair' or 'I want the blue plate' or 'Ahhh! Daddy a spider!' Quinn lost it. She _never_ thought she would hear those simple things.

She was currently trying to pull herself together enough to get the both of them down these damn stairs. Rachel simply would not remove her gaze from Quinn's face.

"Rach, you're going to fall down the stairs." Quinn stated, trying to be stern, but smiling like a fool instead. Rachel didn't reply.

"Sweetie, you have _eyes_ now. Use them to make sure you don't go crashing down the staircase."

Rachel still didn't shift her gaze from Quinn's face, so the blonde gripped her girlfriend's arm tighter and _led_ her down the stairs. Yet again. She would never get tired of leading this girl anywhere, which was good, because apparently _Rachel_ would never get tired of staring at Quinn's face. Seriously, it should be uncomfortable by now, but all Quinn felt was joy and love when she caught her girlfriend doing it, which was _every_ time she looked at her.

_Crash._

Oh shit. Where were we? What were we doing? She can see me!

"Rachel!" Quinn rushed down the few stairs to where Rachel had fallen.

"Sweetie, I _told_ you, you would fall!"

Rachel just whined as Quinn ran her hands over the shorter girl's arms.

"I thought you were watching where I was going."

"I was watching _you_ watch _me_." Quinn pulled Rachel up gently and walked them into the foyer. God, who the hell invented stairs? If everything was just on one damn level life would be _so_ much easier.

"Are you okay?"

Rachel ignored the question. "You're supposed to lead me around." She said, rubbing where her butt had landed on the step.

"Really? S_till_?" Quinn said, fake-exasperatedly, chuckling when Rachel shoved her.

"Yes! Always!"

Quinn smiled and pulled Rachel into a hug. "I know Buddy." Rachel relaxed into her, brown eyes _still _boring into the side of Quinn's head. Quinn couldn't exactly blame her; Rachel had turned into somewhat of a _I'm-four-years-old-and-I-need-to-see-everything-right-now_ child, in the past week. She had forced Quinn to show her _all_ of her baby pictures, something Judy had been _far_ too excited to do. She had attacked Quinn with grapes and her fathers with pizza dough, and the four of them had watched musical after musical, smiling fondly at Rachel's awestruck face out of the corners of their eyes.

Quinn pulled back and met Rachel's deep, brown wonderfully expressive and alive eyes.

"You ready Rach?"

Rachel nodded.

"Yeah? Headache's gone? You don't feel sick anymore?"

"I feel fine Quinn. Who's picking us up?"

"…Um, _everyone._ I thought I told you, Finn _rented_ a minibus this time so we could all ride together and-Sweetheart are you okay?" Quinn asked with concern.

Rachel had looked momentarily stricken with horror. Quinn didn't really blame her; she had, after all, used "Finn" and "minibus" in the same sentence.

Rachel nodded slowly and spoke a moment later. "_This time_, I won't be able to say ignorance is bliss."

Quinn laughed. "Close your eyes. And tell your dads they're going to need to buy a new mailbox."

"Do you think they'll be mad?"

"About losing a mailbox? They'll get over it."

"No. Glee club. Do you think they'll be mad I didn't tell them?" Rachel asked, _finally_ averting her gaze so that it rested on her clasped hands. Quinn ducked her head to catch it again.

"No baby, they'll be _overjoyed_!" Quinn took both Rachel's hands and swung them together, making Rachel smile. They turned when they heard a crash and some frantic yelling coming from outside. "And the crazies have arrived." They grabbed their bags with towels and sun screen and headed out the door.

"-did it again Finn! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"It's not me! It's this bus!"

"Oh yeah, the bus was thinking, 'Hey there's a mailbox I haven't _completely _demolished yet, let me go over there and finish the job."

"Hey Quinn! Rachel!" Artie called happily out the window, ignoring the scene before him.

"Rachel, I'm so sorry! I promise I'll fix it!"

"Yeah, you've become sort an expert now haven't you." Santana muttered.

Rachel and Quinn climbed up the stairs and stood in the aisle next to the driver's seat. Rachel just looked at everyone, taking them all in and trying to catch a few eyes. She wanted to see if anybody realized.

"Good Lord, sit down!"

"She looks like she's going to break out into song."

"Oh God."

"Quinn, seat your girlfriend, she's creeping us out."

"Hey, shut up!" Quinn wrapped her arms around Rachel from behind, smiling as she realized the girl had entered a staring contest with an unwitting Kurt.

Kurt looked a little freaked out. Okay, a lot freaked out. God, he felt like he was about to be murdered. This was very, very odd. Why was he reminded of a horror movie so often when he went anywhere with the Glee Club?

"_Go_, Hudson! Get a move on! They'll be fine if they get knocked down and fall out the door! We won't be moving _that_ fast."

"Santana, shut up!" Kurt yelled, standing up and approaching Rachel. He glanced at Quinn, who just smiled softly at him, still holding Rachel from behind. He flicked his gaze from left to right and Rachel's eyes followed his own.

"Oh my God." He whispered. "Ohmygod! You can see! Rachel!" Kurt shrieked, pulling both Rachel and Quinn in to his arms, Rachel crying silently through her massive smile. The bus erupted into a chorus of confusion.

"What!"

"What the fuck?"

"Are you high?"

"_What_ did he say?"

"What happened?"

"What state are we in?"

"What did he _say_!"

Quinn slid down the aisle and answered everybody's questions while Rachel returned heaps of hugs, laughing joyfully with her fellow glee clubbers. Most of them had gone silent in shock and thought. Rachel's eyes roved over all their faces, matching them with their voices and personalities. Every single one of them was perfect. She smiled when she realized, yes, they _were_ overjoyed, and then beamed when she finally turned back to Quinn and saw that the blonde had been watching her the whole time.

Rachel stood up in her seat.

"Berry-Oh God I can't even tell you to sit down. I've lost it." Santana said and ashamedly hid her face in her hands; Rachel grinned brightly.

"Let's play I Spy!"

-oooooooooo-

"Let's sit here." Kurt suggested, dropping his bags under a canopy in front of the water park's wave pool.

"Cool."

"Psshht, no way, Kurt. Just because you turn into _Po_ when you're exposed to daylight doesn't mean the rest of us don't want some sun." Santana stated, striding past him and closer to the water's edge. "Here." She said confidently, stopping next to a row of loungers.

"Yeah, there's vomit under that chair Santana."

Tina looked disgusted. "Why are we always surrounded by _vomit_?"

"Hey, what about over there?" Finn gestured.

"Oh hell no. I need _at least_ a ten foot radius from all small children."

"Can_ I_ have a ten foot radius from _you_?" Quinn asked, smiling sweetly at Santana.

"Let's go over there!" Rachel declared excitedly, dragging Quinn and the rest of the club to her spot.

"This is actually perfect." Puck stated. "Good lookin' out, Rach."

-oooooooooo-

Halfway through the day at the waterpark, Quinn had _seen_ some things. Things she helped Rachel to avoid, but would never be able to erase from her own mind. Really, why do elderly, overweight men who look like they've never seen the sun _insist_ on wearing Speedos to swim.

"It's their preference, Quinn. Leave them alone." Rachel remarked from her perch in the inflatable ring, Quinn gripping on to the side.

"You didn't see it Rachel. You can't understand. I've been _traumatized_."

"Only because you shoved me in the Lazy River so that I _couldn't possibly_ see."

Quinn scowled and moved her floating girlfriend so that she would drift under the approaching waterfall.

-oooooooooo-

"Finn, just get some ice, sit down-"

"Sit down! Dude, I'll never be able to sit down again!" Finn cried, his voice slightly of a slightly higher pitch than usual.

"What happened to him?" Mercedes asked as Artie rolled up next to the group and Finn toddled away towards the restrooms.

Artie grinned. "He went down that twelve-story free-fall slide and his shorts sort of rode up…Well, not so much _rode up_, as, vanished completely from sight." Artie seemed immensely amused by this.

"Oh boy, don't even get me started." Mercedes jumped in. "Brittany and Santana went down the tunnel slide, you know the one that's dark all the way down, and when they came out the end Santana was _topless _and Brittany was _gone_. She came shooting out the end like five minutes later."

"Oh God, these people…" Quinn groaned, but dissolved into laughter as Finn came back out, smiling embarrassedly and taking _very_ small steps.

"Sort yourself out?" Artie asked, trying oh-so-hard to contain his laughter, but failing miserably.

Finn gave a slight nod. He refused to meet anyone's eyes.

"Okay then!" Mike clapped his hands together. "Let's ride the family raft!"

After climbing up ten stories to reach the top of the flume, Quinn got into a raft with Rachel, of course, along with Finn, Mercedes, and Kurt. They sat in a circle, Finn smiling again, Rachel holding Quinn's hand, and Mercedes and Kurt talking to each other about the seventy-five year old woman they had just witnessed wearing a thong. The lifeguard lugged them out of the "boarding zone" and down into the first drop.

Everyone was laughing; all was good; Quinn was splashing Rachel, and Kurt had his hand outside of the raft and running along the smooth surface of the slide. _Then_ they got into the maze of violent twists and sharp turns.

"Hey Finn, it's like your driving!" Kurt called out. Finn opened his mouth to respond, but never got the chance, as they went up a particularly sharp turn, going so high on the bank that the raft nearly sandwiched completely in half, dumping Finn out of his seat and onto Rachel.

"Finn!"

"Guys hold on-"

Now that _nobody_ was holding on anymore, the five glee clubbers were tossed around like marbles in their little raft, laughing, _maybe_ screaming, possibly painfully, definitely hysterically.

Quinn was pretty sure somebody's knee was in her eye socket as the float came out the end of the slide and landed in the pool.

"Okay," Mercedes looked around, trying to get her bearings. "Yeah, we definitely lost Kurt."

The four _remaining_ people on the raft turned around just in time to see Kurt barreling down the slide behind them. Behind _him_, they caught sight of a raft holding only Puck and Tina. It had previously contained Mike, Santana, and Brittany as well.

-oooooooooo-

"So," Finn began, swimming around the wave pool with Quinn and Rachel, "when they fixed your eyes, did they, like, put something in there?"

Rachel glanced at Quinn, not quite sure how to respond. Quinn just shrugged. She figured Finn just wanted to know if Rachel was now the Bionic Woman.

Finn seemed to sense their confusion. "I was just wondering if you're, like, bionic now. That would be so cool."

Quinn inhaled some water, congratulating herself on her… psychicness? Psychosis? That was probably more fitting. Rachel smiled at her, thumping her on the back repeatedly.

"I don't have "super" vision now, Finn, if that's what you're asking." Finn looked slightly disappointed. "Or x-ray vision. Actually, my eyes kind of _hurt_ now. It's really bright out here."

Quinn immediately stopped trying to body-surf into unsuspecting ten-year-olds and turned back to Rachel looking very concerned.

"Rachel, you should've said something." She said, feeling Rachel's forehead, not that _that_ would tell her anything. Purely instinctual.

"It hasn't been that long. They're just sort of throbbing."

"Throbbing!" Quinn looked frantic. Her formerly blind girlfriend's eyes were throbbing!

Rachel chuckled at her expression. "Calm yourself, Quinn. I'll just put on some sunglasses."

Yeah, some damn sunglasses; plus, a layer of clothes, a towel, a sun hat, SPF 100 sun screen, ice, cucumber slices, whatever the hell it takes. Rachel led the way back to the Glee loungers, put on _Quinn's_ new sunglasses, and smiled brightly at her girlfriend.

"See? Better."

"Mmm. I like those. I think I have a similar pair." Quinn said with a small smile.

Rachel stood on her tip-toes and kissed her. "I don't think so. These are _mine_." Rachel kissed her again and then looked over Quinn's shoulder and grimaced.

"What?"

"I just the saw gentleman who traumatized you outside the Lazy River."

Quinn laughed. "Being able to see is so overrated."

-oooooooooo-

The great thing about not being in Florida anymore was that lighting storms were no longer a daily occurrence. Quinn didn't have to worry about being struck to her death, standing on top of the two-person tunnel flume that Santana had flashed earlier. She had her arms around Rachel's waist, her head on top of the smaller girl's, and they both looked out over the railing, taking in the view.

"Wanna play I Spy?" Quinn asked, jokingly.

Rachel shook her head. "What can you see?" she asked quietly.

"Hmmm. I see the stadium in the distance…I see…the car park. I can totally make out the minibus from here."

"The one with the massive dent in the front bumper."

"Mhmm. I see a grown-up dancing around in the Kiddie Zone…Oh wait, that's Brittany… I see… lots of kids, lots of people, having fun, living their lives."

Rachel tightened her hold on Quinn's arms.

"There's a life guard running around down there…and there's a plane up in the sky."

Rachel tilted her head up to look and Quinn nuzzled into her neck.

"And I see the most beautiful girl in the world…Oh, wait, I lost her. Where did she go? Oh, yeah, she's right here." Quinn turned Rachel around and kissed her, grinning at Rachel's blush and shy smile.

"What can _you_ see, Buddy?" Quinn asked her.

Rachel turned back to the view and smiled, bringing Quinn's arms back around her. She sighed contentedly when Quinn kissed her head.

"I can see for miles."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: It's been so much fun writing this story guys! Thanks for reading, I hope it made you smile! The sequel won't be up for a few weeks; I'm resuming my epic battle with Organic Chem on Monday and I'd like to go at least a week before I give up. Thanks again!**

**I Can See For Miles**

**Epilogue**

"Quinn! We're going to be late!"

"We're late _every year_, Rach. They're so excited to see you they don't even notice." Quinn wanted to also point out that it was always _Rachel's_ fault they were late, but her _wife_ seemed to be having enough trouble as it was, hopping around their bedroom and trying to put her shoe on the wrong foot.

"Buddy, stop." Quinn strode over and gently toppled Rachel onto the bed. She grabbed the right shoe and put it on the correct foot, then ran her hands up Rachel's calf and stood up.

"See. Things get done when you don't act like a spaz." Quinn smiled fondly down at the smaller woman, ruffling her brown hair.

"Let's go!" Rachel cried, dragging them out the front door, bouncing in the elevator, then tripping down the _two_ steps in front of their building. Good Lord. _Two_ steps and they _still_ managed to tumble down them. Some things never change.

Their cab took them to the Lavelle School for the Blind, where they were greeted by the principal and district superintendent, along with multiple security officers whom Quinn had demanded be present to ward off the paparazzi. Everybody in the city of New York knew that Rachel Berry attended the school carnival each year; it was gossip magazine _gold_.

"Rachel, Quinn, so good to see you two again! I'm sorry I can't stay and chat; it seems one of the vendors caught fire, the person, not the machinery, and the lawn sprinklers won't turn off…We'll have you on stage at about six, if that's okay?"

Rachel nodded excitedly and the woman jogged off vaguely in the direction of an explosion. Quinn was focused on something else, something coming down the street that she _could not_ believe. Oh. My. God. No way. No freaking way. It's not them. Oh my God. It _is_ them. Rachel followed her gaze and gasped in shock and excitement before throwing her arms around Quinn and laughing at her wife's expression.

A few seconds later the _minibus_ lurched up onto the curb, plowed down a traffic cone the police had set up, and screeched to a halt right in front of Rachel and Quinn. They heard yelling coming from inside and were transported immediately back to high school.

"My water bottle just got stuck under the pedal, calm down!"

"Holy shit! We made it? We're alive?"

"Did we just crash?"

Quinn couldn't seem to close her mouth. This was too damn ridiculous.

"Now who's acting like a spaz?" Rachel asked with a smile, shaking Quinn lightly to wake her from the _oh-my-God-I-thought-I'd-never-see-that-damn-minibus-again_ stupor. The door opened then and the one-and-only Finn Hudson leaped out and engulfed them in a hug.

"Hi guys!"

"Finn! I thought it was just _you_ coming!" Rachel laughed.

"Oh _it was_." Santana said, emerging from the bus, slightly wobbly on her legs, and grabbing on to a street sign for support. "_Some_ of us were _coerced_ into riding in this death machine again."

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "And _some_ of us wanted to support you guys." She smiled when Rachel shrieked happily.

"Okay," Mike called, hopping off the steps and then helping Tina, "which one of you guys spilled fruit punch down the aisle? It looks like a murder scene."

Kurt looked pointedly at Mercedes, following Mike. "Has anyone seen Lord Tubbington the Second?"

"Oh, I definitely have." Artie remarked as they lowered him down at the back of the bus. "He vomited on my shoes then hid under the seats."

"Mmm. Charming."

"Don't worry Brittany, I'm sure he's still alive." Brittany looked a little dubious. Mercedes looked a little disappointed.

"Wait, there was a cat on board this _whole_ time?"

Quinn caught up with everybody as they milled around on the sidewalk, recovering from their most recent minibus exploits. She learned that everybody had flown in, or driven in, yesterday, to Finn's house right outside the city, so the bus trip _should_ have only been about twenty minutes. Of course, Quinn understood first hand that _a lot_ could happen on a minibus with Finn in twenty minutes.

"Oh yeah, we were in New Jersey at one point." Puck explained. "He almost took us to _Vermont_ but Santana made him turn around."

"Pssht, _someone_ had to take matters into their own hands. We'd be crossing the damn border right now if it wasn't for me."

Quinn listened and laughed, but began to get a little antsy as the paparazzi started showing up, hanging around them like parasites. She stayed next to Rachel, one arm draped protectively around the smaller woman's shoulders, blocking her from the cameras, until everybody began to move through the gates and on to the grounds of the school.

All the old glee-clubbers smiled proudly as Rachel greeted the blind students, talking animatedly and laughing and touching the hands of every single one of them. Quinn grinned like a fool. God, she loved that girl.

-oooooooooo-

"Artie, you _need_ to stop yourself." Mercedes watched him, both awe and disgust written across her face. "You have a _wife_ now. _And_ a kid. I'm not gonna be the one to explain to them that you ate eleven sticks of cotton candy and died of sugar-induced cardiac arrest."

"Not a problem." Artie replied, swallowing more puffy pink goodness. "I once ate seven Cinnabons in one sitting; I can handle this."

"Oh God. Don't remind us; after the ambulance left you cried for an _hour_." Tina remarked.

"Uh, _yeah_, because Finn ate the rest of my frosting."

Quinn had to agree. Even though you need, like, a wheelbarrow of insulin to survive it, Cinnabon frosting is a gift from God.

"I think _Finn's_ the one about to have cardiac arrest." Mike said, turning around and watching Finn frantically spin about thirty kids all piled onto a merry-go-round. As they watched, he dropped to his knees, seemingly suffering from some sort of breathing issues.

"Where'd Brittany and Santana go?"

"They're at the first aid tent."

Kurt gasped. "What happened!"

"They went in the petting zoo because Brittany wanted to hold the rabbits. Apparently Santana got rammed by a goat." Puck explained, far too amused by Santana's ordeal.

"Do goats have horns?" Kurt asked.

"No, that's rams." Mercedes replied.

"Do sheep have horns?"

"Rams are sheep right?" asked Mike.

"I thought rams were goats."

"No, Kurt, they're covered in wool and have those curly horns."

"Okay, let me ask you guys, what's the difference between a puma, a cougar, a mountain lion, and a panther?"

"Oh God."

"Hey, Finn!" Quinn interjected before a debate over large cat species could ensue. The guy was walking, or staggering exhaustedly, over to their picnic table.

"Dude, where's your shirt?"

"Should we call an ambulance?"

He held up his hands, as if to say "I'm good," but couldn't actually seem to get the words out. He pointed back at the kids. "Some-Someone…needs…to-to…push….them."

"Oh! I'll go!" Rachel hopped up, kissed Quinn, and pranced over to the merry-go-round. Quinn watched her announce her presence and saw the kids cheer excitedly

"So Quinn," Quinn turned back to find Puck smirking at her, "tell us something about the famous Broadway star Mrs. Rachel Berry that us lowly fans don't know."

Quinn narrowed her eyes at him.

"Relax, nothing inappropriate. I'm married now, remember?" Puck smiled proudly.

Quinn grinned and nodded, turning back to Rachel to think, surprised to find that her wife was now the one in the center of the merry-go-round being spun madly by blind second-graders who _probably_ didn't realize how woozy the woman looked.

Quinn looked back at Puck. "Rachel throws up _every_ single time she goes on a teacup ride, a tilt-a-whirl, things like that…" Puck nodded wisely; who _didn't_ throw up on a damn tilt-a-whirl. "But she loves roller coasters, especially those boat things that flip you upside-down."

"Oh dude, me too! I like to fill my pockets with loose change and watch the people react as it falls on them…What else?"

"Well…she's like a four-year-old, in that she'd rather have chocolate milk than alcohol with dinner…and she can't eat spaghetti without getting sauce down her shirt, like, really, it's impossible. She loves to watch Animal Planet but I have to turn it off when Animal Cops comes on because it makes her cry." Quinn's eyes glazed over; she was on a roll now and her friends watched in amusement.

"She calls her dads every Sunday, even when we were in England and it cost her a fortune and they told her that she didn't have to…Hmmm…She gags if she smells steak cooking but makes me bacon on my birthday and our anniversary, and it's impossible to go grocery shopping with her because she throws everything that catches her attention into the cart and she always ends up ramming it into a pile of some collapsible commodity…She gets me Sweethearts candy ever Valentine's Day, and picks out the best messages and hides them around the house for me to find."

Quinn thought for a few more moments. She didn't want to share the _really_ personal things, like the fact that Rachel would still close her eyes for hours at a time when they were hanging out in their apartment, not pretending that she was blind, just…remembering the feeling, or the fact that she had cancelled a week's worth of shows when Quinn's father had died just to sit at home with her wife.

"Her favorite smell is Windex, though she's never cleaned a window in her life. She gets _me_ to do all the cleaning because she proved to me the hard way that she's allergic to Pine-Sol. God, she's _so_ annoying sometimes…" Quinn trailed off, the soft smile on her face contradicting her words.

"Oh girl, _please_." Mercedes scoffed before Quinn could continue her list-of-reasons-why-I-am-head-over-heels-in-love-with-Rachel-Berry rant. "You know when she does all that _you're_ the one pouring the damn chocolate milk and helping her get the sauce off her shirt and wheeling her around on the grocery cart."

"Quinn, dear, you are whipped." Kurt grinned.

"What, I'm not-"

"Quuuuiinnn." Rachel whined from behind her. "I feel sick."

Quinn whipped her head around and stood up to face Rachel. She wrapped one arm around the smaller woman and brushed brunette bangs away with the other, ignoring the whip noises Puck was so graciously providing.

"Breathe baby. Do you mean 'vomit' sick or- Oh my God Santana! Are you okay?"

Santana just ignored Quinn and rolled her eyes. Brittany made a 'don't ask' motion with her hand as she pushed the _wheelchair_ along. That ram/goat/sheep/puma/manatee must've really done some damage.

Good Lord. Why does she know these people?

-ooooooooooo-

"So, Mike, Tina, are you enjoying New York?" Quinn asked them, sitting in the corner of the bounce house so that Rachel could avoid the crowds for a few minutes. It _seemed_ like a good idea at the time.

"Oh yeah!" Mike nodded, grimacing as a child landed on his knees, probably inverting them in the process. "Yeah, we did all the tourist stuff."

Tina rolled her eyes. "Mmhm, he insisted on wearing a Statue of Liberty foam hat all day. It was about seven feet tall."

"Oh my God, I have that same hat!" Quinn exclaimed. This time Rachel rolled her eyes. They spotted two people enter the bounce house then, and Brittany came bounding athletically over and around the kids to reach them. Santana seemed to vanish for a few minutes, until she crawled out from the mob of kids and slumped over next to Brittany.

"Where did your bandage go, San?"

"Oh God."

-oooooooooo-

"Did you know rabies victims have an irrational fear of water?"

"What?"

"Puck, are you trying to tell us you have rabies?"

Puck shook his head. "Yeah right. Just imagine what it would be like. You'd be scared to shower, drink anything. So weird, dude."

Mercedes stared at him like he did have rabies. "What-I don't even-Okay, I can't."

Puck grinned, whipped several water balloons out of God knows where, and pelted them at those closest to him. Mercedes and Kurt were soaked. Brittany cheered happily, retrieved the nearest hose and drowned Puck along with any willing participants.

Five minutes later they got told by the principal to settle down or they would be escorted off the property. Santana telling her to "let loose a little you uptight bitch" didn't help matters.

-oooooooooo-

By six o'clock, Quinn and Rachel had fought their way out of the bounce house and now waited by the side of the small stage that had been set up at the end of the school grounds. Rachel was talking to her manager and a few sound guys, and Quinn was on the lookout for any sort of threats. Psycho guys wearing tinted glasses and baseball caps, mean-spirited ten-year-olds, blind assassins, rogue animals, freaking _manatees_. You could never be too careful.

Rachel stopped talking just as a little girl and boy walked up. The girl seemed to be blind; the boy could obviously see, as he stopped them right in front of Rachel.

"Hi." The boy said nervously, holding the girl's hand.

"Hello!" Rachel replied, smiling warmly and kneeling down. "What's your name?"

"Thomas."

"Hi Thomas! I'm Rachel." The boy nodded and smiled slightly, then gestured to the girl.

"This is Maggie."

Rachel reached for one of the girl's hands and clasped it in both of her own. "It's very nice to meet you Maggie. How old are you guys?"

"Eight." Thomas replied, smiling proudly.

"Eight! Oooh that's a good age." Quinn commented sagely, kneeling down next to Rachel.

"Do you like to sing?" Rachel asked, still holding onto Maggie's hand.

"Mags does!" Thomas said enthusiastically. "She has the CD from your play and she makes me listen to it every time I go to her house."

Quinn nodded along. "Girl has good taste." She noticed Rachel still had her gaze fixed on Maggie.

"Do you wanna sing when you grow up Maggie?" Rachel asked softly. The eight-year-old bit her lip and nodded her head shyly.

"She's gonna be on Broadway!" Thomas proclaimed.

"Only if Tom comes with me." Maggie said very quietly.

"Yeah?" Rachel said. Quinn put her hand on the small of Rachel's back. "You guys are buddies?"

Thomas nodded enthusiastically and Maggie smiled. Quinn could tell Rachel was about to cry so she moved her hand in circles and took the attention off her wife.

"Well, Maggie, when you're a star on Broadway I hope you remember to send us some tickets okay?"

"I will." Maggie said, slightly louder this time. Thomas grinned at her.

"See, I told you they would be nice."

"Thank you Mrs. Berry." Maggie smiled and Quinn watched her wife fall apart a little more.

"You can call me Rachel, sweetie. Can I hug you?"

Now Maggie _beamed,_ nodding brightly. Rachel engulfed her in her arms and squeezed tightly.

"Never give up, okay sweetheart? I'm sure you'll be _amazing_."

Thomas was just standing there grinning, so Quinn wrapped him in a hug as well.

"You stay by Maggie, okay? Take care of her. You have no idea how good she'll be for you."

"Of _course_!" Thomas proclaimed, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The principal came up as Rachel and Quinn said goodbye to the kids and indicated that it was time for Rachel to go on. Quinn made sure her wife wasn't a _complete_ mess; she gazed at her, silently asking if she was okay, and Rachel nodded reassuringly, giving her a watery smile, before striding out on to the stage.

Quinn watched the audience for a minute. Most of them were students, strolling around with their canes or holding their parents' and friends' hands. She spied a few security guards, all of whom seemed to be watching the group of soaked gleeks standing off to the side. For good reason, Quinn saw, as Finn led half the audience in a rousing rendition of 'Don't Stop Believing.'

Rachel talked for a few minutes to everybody about how she was blind when she was younger. Quinn walked out and sat cross-legged on the grass next to Maggie and Tom, and she was joined by the rest of the former glee-clubbers. She listened to Rachel talk about being bullied at school, something she was glad the kids at Lavelle didn't have to go through. Rachel told them about singing and glee club and her supportive fathers. Then she told them about a trip she took with her best friends; about how they went in a minibus to Key Largo and were laden with plans gone terribly awry, like flat tires and raw pancakes and massive hair, and she played them the memories from her old sound recorder.

The kids sat in rapt attention, listening to every detail. Who knew that you could have so much fun being the only blind person on a vacation. It would be a vacation from hell, on paper, Quinn thought. God, that freaking tiny bed changed her life though. Finally Rachel told them about how that trip brought her closer to the love of her life.

"She was my buddy then and she's my Buddy now. I was blind when we first went out, but she said my eyes were perfect, and it made me feel like it would be okay… So that's what I want to tell you guys today; you're perfect just how you are. And to those families and friends who can see, just be there for them…and make sure they don't fall down the stairs okay?"

Quinn gave a watery laugh. She looked to her left and accidentally snorted when she saw tears running down Puck's and Finn's faces. They heard her and quickly wiped their eyes, gesturing to the small flowers as if to say 'What? I'm _allergic_. I'm not bawling because your wife is so wonderful and perfect and sweet and kind. It's because of these damn flowers.' Quinn just smiled and met Rachel's gaze. She listened to the couple songs Rachel had chosen to perform and was the first to stand up and applaud when they were over.

"Before I go, I'd like you guys to meet my wife." Rachel said into the mike when the applause died down. "She's the reason I'm here today, and I'd like you all to hear her voice, because, ten years ago, it was my main reason for getting up in the morning."

Quinn was surprised; Rachel had never gotten her up on stage before.

"Quinn?" Rachel asked. Quinn sat motionless and Santana resorted to kicking her in the back.

"What the hell!"

"Move it Fabray! God, this is so freaking _heartwarming_." Santana seemed to be losing what grip she had on her sanity as she dissolved into tears, and Brittany wrapped her arms around her. Quinn finally strode up towards the stage and gave Rachel a hug when she reached her.

"Love you Rach." She whispered, her head resting on top of her wife's.

"I love you too." Rachel replied. Quinn smiled softly, breaking away and taking the mike.

"Hi everyone." She said uncertainly. She was met with a wall of applause and Rachel grinned at her.

"Okay…" Quinn had no idea where she was going with this. What the hell was she supposed to say? She was _not_ prepared for this. All she wanted to do was sit and watch her wife sing. God it's _so_ hot out here. She glanced nervously at Rachel, who smiled at her encouragingly.

"Okay. I guess I just want to say…You kids that go to this school…are truly inspirational. Every single one of you is special… I want to ask all you guys to never write anybody off because they're different. Get to know them, you know, because…they probably have _so_ much more to offer... I know I did and my life infinitely better for it."

The audience clapped again and Quinn stepped back to Rachel. She watched their best friends trying to pretend like they weren't crying and she laughed with her wife at Santana mouthing the words 'damn heartwarming bitches' into Brittany's shoulder.

Quinn leaned down and kissed Rachel. She had something she wanted to show her, but waited until they were off-stage to do so.

"Rach."

Rachel stopped walking and spun around happily. She stood right up against Quinn and hooked her fingers through the blonde's belt loops. "Quinn."

Quinn smiled fondly as she gazed at the perfect brown eyes.

"I have a present for you."

Rachel gasped. "What is it!" she removed her hand from the belt loops and instead wrapped her arms around Quinn's waist. Quinn waited a moment, reveling in Rachel's excitement, before pulling an envelope out of her jacket. Rachel watched every movement with wide eyes.

"Apparently Kurt's grandmother found a camera lodged underneath the mattress of that freaking tiny bed we slept in, in Key Largo."

Rachel nodded excitedly and Quinn laughed.

"Quuuiiinnnn, show me!"

Quinn pulled the photo out and handed it to Rachel. It was of the two of them lying in the bunk, obviously taken by Quinn. They had their faces pressed together and looked like they had just run a damn marathon; obviously it was one of the nights where they were lacking in AC and nearing the brink of heat hallucinations and insanity. Rachel's gaze was unfocused, but there was no doubt that Quinn had been staring right into the smaller girl's eyes. They looked ridiculously happy.

"It's a few nights after I asked you to be my girlfriend. Our first picture as a couple." Quinn explained. Rachel seemed to be having trouble breathing.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Uh-oh. Do we need an ambulance? Inhaler? Hose? Water balloons? A camera so we can do this exact same thing ten years from now?

Rachel nodded and tore her gaze away from the photo. Quinn wiped the tears off her wife's cheeks and then kissed her sweetly.

"I love you Quinn. You saved me then, and I love you, more than you'll ever know." Rachel said softly.

Quinn smiled and rested her forehead against Rachel's. "I think I do know, Buddy, because that's exactly how much I love you."


End file.
